Against the Current - Chapter 128

Chapter 128 - Disaster Unleashed

Xianglan maintained a composed and dignified expression, yet she remained silent. After crying for a spell, Yindie knelt on the ground and stole a glance up at Xianglan. Their eyes met, and she hastily lowered her gaze once more. Seeing that Yindie's crying had subsided, Xianglan spoke in a gentle tone, "Yindie, you and I are old acquaintances, both former maids of the Lin household. How is it that you have now ended up with the Xia family?"

Yindie sobbed until she was out of breath, looking thoroughly pitiful. She shook her head and could not speak. Xianglan handed over her own handkerchief, her face entirely placid. "Wipe away your tears first. Xia Scholar and I have never had any betrothal, and my mother even entrusted a matchmaker to look into prospective matches for me—that is common knowledge to everyone. Yet today, you showed up at my doorstep out of the blue, calling me 'First Mistress' at every turn, causing a scene with wailing and door-banging, and putting on quite a grand performance. Surely I must get to the bottom of this."

The moment her words fell, the onlookers gathered about nodded in agreement. A married woman holding a child cried out from the crowd, "She's right! There's always a cause and effect, so the whole story needs to be told."

Yindie was taken aback. Having expected that such an incident would surely mortify Xianglan into locking her doors and crying in shame behind closed doors, she had never imagined Xianglan would be so calm. Biting her lip, she replied, "The Eldest Master of the Lin household bestowed me upon the Xia family's provincial graduate."

Xianglan nodded, drawing out her words deliberately. "Understood. So she is a concubine bestowed by a superior." Yindie possessed a certain degree of grace and appearance, and being of servant stock from the Lin household was the only reason she had managed to serve in Zhisun Lodge—a place where male guests could virtually never set eyes on her. She was merely sixteen or seventeen, not yet of age to be given in marriage, yet Lin Jinlou had gifted her to an obscure provincial graduate. There was certainly something quite telling about that arrangement.

Internal bitterness surged within Yindie. Seeing the half-mocking, half-amused expression on Xianglan's face only added to her fury, though she quickly masked it with a wronged look and wept, "I only beg the young miss to take pity on a wretched, ill-fated person like me..."

Xianglan stated, "You and I have no connection whatsoever, so there is no question of taking pity or not. Xia Yun and I are merely passing acquaintances. You coming to my doorstep means you've surely cried at the wrong place and knelt at the wrong door."

Refusing to budge from the ground, Yindie kowtowed with loud thuds, tears streaming down her face as she pleaded, "Our master is fond of the young miss, and has repeatedly sent members of his household to inquire after you. The young miss also harbors feelings for him, and even gifted him a brocade-patched flower ornament. Our master treasures that item like nothing else, but now, because of me, the young miss has suddenly turned cold toward him, and as a result, the master wants to sell me off. I, I... I beg the young miss to show mercy!"

Madam Xue rushed out from the doorway, her face flushed red with rage as she cursed, "You talk nonsense! When did my daughter ever give him a flower ornament? You're slinging poisonous mud like this and aren't even afraid of being struck dead by heavenly thunder!"

Weeping hysterically, Yindie swore to the heavens and earth, "If I have uttered so much as half a word of falsehood, may a giant sore grow in my throat and rot away my neck!"

Xianglan laughed coldly inwardly, retort ready. "I only ever gave a brocade-patched flower ornament to the Xia family's third young miss, and I presented it openly in front of our elders. Is the Xia family plotting some grand scheme, attempting to entrap me with a single flower?"

Sobbing pitifully, Yindie pleaded, "Young miss, our master's feelings are entirely genuine. I ask for nothing else; if the young miss will only allow me to stay and serve by your side in the future, I am willing to be a beast of burden..."

Xianglan flew into a rage. "Shut your mouth! I have stated it multiple times now: my marriage has nothing to do with Xia Yun. Talk of serving me is nonsense. Go take your talk up with Xia Yun's proper first-rate wife in the future! If you drag me into this mess one more time, I will go straight to the yamen and accuse the Xia family of ruining my reputation!"

Xianglan had always been easy-going and greeted everyone with a smile, leading Yindie to assume she was easily manipulated. Yindie had never imagined she could turn so fierce and severe, and she stood frozen for a moment. Catching sight of the surrounding crowd pointing and whispering out of the corner of her eye, she thought to herself, This matter is already out in the open; even if Xianglan is innocent, it will be hard to clear her name. Hmph, even if she has thick skin and doesn't go off to die, it will be difficult for her to marry into a respectable family in the future. I'll just keep playing the pitiful card. Tears rolled down like melon seeds, and she said with a desolate air, "Is the young miss's words meant to drive this slave to her death?"

Xianglan stared coldly down at Yindie, saying in a deep voice, "You are a concubine bestowed by the Eldest Master of the Lin household. Since you are a concubine, you must keep to a concubine's proper place! You are nothing more than a servant, yet you dare to harbor wild ambitions and interfere in your master's affairs. Truly, you have no sense of decorum and possess the heart of a wolf! I have nothing to do with Xia Yun, but even if I did, a mere slave like you has no business shouting behind your master's back and making a scene at my doorstep to ruin my reputation! Weeping and wailing one moment, kowtowing and begging the next, acting desperate to die the moment after, as if I have somehow driven you to it. I am an innocent person, yet you have splashed me with a basin of filth for no reason, causing the neighborhood gossips to point fingers at me. Yindie, do not imagine you can just cause a scene here and call it a day—the Xia family must give me an explanation for this!"

Yindie turned pale, gritted her back teeth, and wept, "For the young miss to speak thus is truly to pierce my heart... The young miss keeps saying 'slave, slave'—have you forgotten your own humble origins?"

Before her voice had even faded, Xia Yun bolted out from the crowd in a state of exasperation. He seized Yindie by the arm and snapped harshly, "Shameless creature, what are you doing here!"

Yindie's heart sank and hatred burned within her. The tears flowed even faster from her eyes as she wept and wailed without stopping.

Xia Yun looked up at Xianglan, his face flushed beet-red as he stammered, "Chen... Chen young miss, I am truly sorry..."

Xianglan said coldly, "Scholar Xia has arrived just in time. Here in front of everyone, I would like to ask you: just now, your concubine kept crying out 'First Mistress' at me. Have you and I ever had any betrothal?"

Xia Yun glared fiercely at Yindie, feeling as though he had completely lost face, and lowered his head to reply, "Never."

Xianglan asked, "Have you and I ever exchanged tokens of affection in secret?"

Xia Yun thought to himself, Xianglan did send me a flower ornament, but she did so through Second Sister-in-law. Since she is a young maiden with a thin skin, it is naturally inconvenient to speak of this openly. He shook his head as well and said, "Never."

Xianglan continued, "Just now, Yindie also claimed that because of me, Scholar Xia wanted to sell her off. Is this true?"

Xia Yun was stunned. Yindie had been gifted to him by the Lin family, so her status was naturally different. Moreover, she was lovely to look at, and the two of them were in the thick of a passionate honeymoon phase. Even when Yindie threw small tantrums, Xia Yun couldn't bear to let her go—how could he possibly be willing to sell her?

Seeing the expression on his face, Xianglan understood immediately. She remarked aloud, "Just now, everyone in the neighborhood heard it with their own ears. She claimed with her own mouth that Scholar Xia was going to sell her because of me."

Xia Yun immediately shook his head. "There is no such thing whatsoever."

Xianglan breathed a sigh of relief. "Since that is settled, the matter is clear. However, Scholar Xia's beloved concubine just now turned things upside down, splashing a massive basin of dirty water on me. How should this be handled?"

Enduring his humiliation, Xia Yun made a deep, sweeping bow. "It is my failure to properly discipline my household. I beg the young miss to forgive this offense."

Xianglan stepped aside to receive the bow, her voice cold. "I assumed Scholar Xia was a reasonable and sensible official. In the future, you must properly discipline your inner courtyard. The books teach us that to 'put the family in order' comes before 'governing the country and pacifying the world,' and clearly 'putting the family in order' takes the very first place. Otherwise, if she runs to my door to cry today, and runs to someone else's door to cry tomorrow, everywhere slandering ordinary maidens for having past ties with Scholar Xia, what kind of system is that? If word spreads, will Scholar Xia find any glory in it?"

Xia Yun felt alternating waves of heat and cold wash over him. He felt as though he had never suffered such public humiliation in all his years of life, and hearing the buzzing discussions around him made him wish the ground would open up and swallow him. Yet every word Xianglan spoke was entirely reasonable, leaving him no room to argue. He could only endure it silently while nursing a deeper hatred for Yindie for stirring up this mess. Raising his gaze slightly, he saw Xianglan glaring at him, her clear eyes holding nothing but cold frost, which caused a sharp pang in his chest. He viciously kicked Yindie and bellowed furiously, "You damned, base creature, you've completely ruined my face! I'll see if I don't give you a thorough beating when we get back! Making things out of nothing, and even daring to blow this out of proportion—why aren't you apologizing to Chen young miss right now!"

Yindie let out a cry of pain as she collapsed sideways onto the ground, hating him even more. In the past, Xia Yun had always treated her with utmost tenderness and had never uttered a harsh word to her, yet today he had actually kicked her for that little slut Chen Xianglan! Writhing in pain, she simply cowered on the ground and wept, refusing to utter a single sound.

Xianglan was also startled, having never expected that Xia Yun, who had previously appeared so cultivated and refined, could fly into such a violent rage. Seeing Yindie curled up in a ball, she felt a trace of pity, thinking that truly, every pitiful person has something hateful about them.

Seeing that Yindie refused to respond, Xia Yun felt his face burn with even greater shame. He struck out at her twice more and roared, "I'm talking to you! Are you deaf? You started this entire mess, and now what are you putting on airs for!"

The onlookers chimed in. "Indeed. Her master is apologizing to people, so what is she still putting on airs for?"

"She's fair enough to look at, but what a troublemaker. If word of this gets out, who would ever dare make a match with the Xia family?"

"He's a provincial graduate, after all; surely finding a match shouldn't be that hard."

"Hah, what do you know? He may be a provincial graduate, but his family is dead broke. There are nearly twenty mouths to feed, big and small, and his old mother is an absolute shrew. Look at those who have some wealth and a precious daughter—who would want to marry into his family?"

These comments drifted directly into Xia Yun's ears. He had always treasured his reputation, and now he felt as though his entire lifetime of honor had been wiped out in an instant. A surge of turbulent blood churned in his chest, and he struck Yindie a couple more times. Not only was he furious with Yindie, but he now harbored a fierce resentment toward Xianglan as well, thinking, To push someone to the brink is enough, and since she wasn't completely devoid of feeling for me, how could she humiliate me so ruthlessly!

Xianglan truly did not wish to watch Xia Yun beat his concubine any longer. She waved a hand and said, "Forget it. Scholar Xia's apology is enough. The two of you, please head back." With that, she cast a meaningful glance at Huashan, signaling her to help Madam Xue back inside.

Enduring his deep humiliation, Xia Yun was just about to drag Yindie away when he heard someone in the crowd mocking, "Scholar Xia certainly has a blessed life. Not satisfied with such a beautiful concubine, he's set his sights on the Chen family's young miss. I heard he sent a matchmaker twice, but the Chen family rejected him both times, yet he still shamelessly came running over."

"Tsk tsk, they say scholars are the ones with the most wandering thoughts..."

Xia Yun's face flared crimson. Then, he heard Xianglan speak up. "Scholar Xia."

Xia Yun stopped in his tracks. He heard Xianglan say, "Previously, when your younger sister came to visit my home, I gave her a flower ornament in front of our elders. Later on, Yindie repeatedly claimed that I had given it to you in private. There is absolutely no truth to that whatsoever, so I must ask Scholar Xia to go back and burn that flower."

When these words dropped, Xia Yun felt as though a lightning bolt had struck the top of his head. So all those days he had begged Xia Second Sister-in-law to act as a matchmaker, spending a considerable sum of unjust silver, it had all been nothing more than his own wishful thinking! He now knew with absolute certainty that Xianglan held not a single shred of romantic affection for him. He had just lowered himself to apologize and bow repeatedly—partly because Yindie was in the wrong, but mostly because of his fondness for Xianglan, hoping to placate her. Hearing this now, he thought to himself, With my talent, I am destined to become a high-ranking official and achieve great things in the future; countless young maidens and wives admire me. I don't mind your humble origins and flawed reputation—having had entanglements with two other men—and yet how dare you look down on me! Overwhelmed by shame, resentment, and wounded pride, he lost all restraint and said coldly, "Young miss can rest assured. Though I am unworthy, and my family is poor, I still possess a degree of backbone. Since a woman like you has had improper entanglements with the Eldest Master of the Lin household and the Eldest Master of the Song household, even if Xia Yun were to debase himself further, he would never stoop to associate with such company!"