Against the Current - Chapter 142

Chapter 142 - Hosting a Banquet (Part 2)

Half ashamed and half angry, Xianglan struggled against him, but Lin Jinlou only burst into a triumphant laugh. As he strode out of the doorway, a few maids carrying trays were walking along the covered walkway; upon seeing this, they were all struck with astonishment, unable to help casting furtive glances and whispering among themselves. Xianglan's face burned with humiliation, so she simply closed her eyes, deciding that what she didn't see wouldn't trouble her.

Xique was keeping watch at the entrance of the eastern side-room and hurriedly lifted the curtain. Seeing that Lin Jinlou was actually carrying Xianglan in his arms, everyone looked as though they had been struck by an immobilization spell, standing completely dumbfounded. Huamei forgot to wave her fan, Yingge was so startled she spilled half a bowl of tea, and Luan'er, who was in the middle of tuning her pipa, nearly snapped a fingernail.

Completely unperturbed, Lin Jinlou set Xianglan down upon the heated brick kang. Xianglan immediately shrank back into the corner of the kang, as far away from Lin Jinlou as possible, sitting with her back against the wooden partition. With a soft cushion supporting her left hand, she swept her gaze over the people in the room without uttering a word. Among them, only Luan'er had never laid eyes on Xianglan before. Looking closely, she saw that the girl possessed the grace of a flowering begonia and the refined charm of a solitary orchid—an absolute, peerless beauty who not only cast all the women she had ever seen into the shade, but also made the few of them present look entirely devoid of radiance. A sour feeling welled up in Luan'er's heart, though upon noticing the faint, lingering redness and swelling on Xianglan's face—clear evidence that she had taken a beating—she straightened her spine once more, recalling how Lin Jinlou had stormed off to her room in a huff the previous night. Even so, the realization left a bitter taste in her mouth. Huamei gave her fan a light wave, wearing an expression of deep contemplation. Yingge glanced at Xianglan, then cast a sidelong look at Huamei before lowering her gaze once again.

Lin Jinlou raised his brow and commanded, "Bring over a kang table. With just a few of us here, what's the use of a big table?"

Huamei smiled and said, "That makes sense. A small table makes the meal much more lively."

Immediately, maids brought over two ebony kang tables inlaid with gold wire and pushed them together. Lin Jinlou sat cross-legged on the kang, with Huamei on his left and Luan'er on his right, while Yingge sat on a chair opposite him to keep company. This arrangement brought Lin Jinlou somewhat closer to Xianglan once more.

The maids arranged all the dishes across the table. When Xianglan glanced toward it, she saw a myriad of distinct plates, all crafted uniformly from Ding ware celadon-blue glaze—some square, some round, some shaped like crabapple blossoms, plum blossoms, ingots, or gourds. Though no larger than small tea saucers, they held an array of rare delicacies too numerous to list.

Luan'er personally poured a cup of wine for Lin Jinlou, while Huamei picked out a few refreshing side dishes and tender shredded meat, wrapped them in bean curd skin, placed them on a small porcelain dish decorated with overlapping cloud patterns, and brought it to Lin Jinlou's lips with a smile. "These are the young master's absolute favorites. Have a taste first."

To everyone's surprise, Lin Jinlou didn't even glance at it; instead, he picked up the cup of wine Luan'er had poured for him and took a sip. Huamei felt a flash of awkwardness, but a moment later her face broke into a full smile as she switched to a duck-fat roll, placing it once more on the cloud-patterned porcelain dish. Leaning closer, she coaxed, "Young master, try this instead. I hand-shredded the duck meat inside myself and let it marinate in a clay jar until all the rich flavors soaked right through. It's wonderfully fragrant and sweet."

At that moment, Luan'er also picked up a piece of deep-fried spareribs and offered it to him. Lin Jinlou accepted the meat from Luan'er's chopsticks and ate it, leaving Huamei hanging in the cold. Huddled in her corner, Xianglan took in the scene clearly and thought to herself, "Huamei has always been exceptionally shrewd and was once the most favored among the back-court concubines. Yet on two occasions now, Lin Jinlou has publicly humiliated her. I suppose she must have done something to incur this master's wrath." Huamei awkwardly set her dish down, though her heart gave a jolt of alarm. Rereading the earlier events carefully in her mind, she recalled how Lin Jinlou had tried to warn and discipline her in the room earlier, but she had played the fool and feigned ignorance, likely displeasing him and causing him to deliberately distance himself from her.

Seeing that Lin Jinlou had humiliated Huamei while accepting her own offerings twice over, Luan'er's face beamed with radiance. Instantly reenergized, she took charge and called out, "Sister Huamei, bring over that plate of phoenix marrow; it's the young master's absolute favorite, and it loses its flavor once it gets cold." Then she urged, "Sister Yingge, trouble yourself to pour me a cup of fruit wine. This aged brew has too much of an aftertaste; if I have a couple more sips, I'm afraid I'll slide right under the table." Turning next to dispatch Huamei's maid, she commanded, "Xique, go fetch a basin of hot water so I can wash my hands and peel river prawns for the young master."

Xique bit back her resentment. Luan'er's own maid, Cunxin, was standing right there waiting, yet Luan'er pointedly ordered Xique around instead, clearly intending to humiliate Huamei. Xique cast a look at Huamei and, seeing her give a slight nod, had no choice but to fetch the hot water in a silver basin and bring a hand towel to wait upon Luan'er.

As if he noticed none of this, Lin Jinlou used his silver chopsticks to leisurely sample the food from every single dish one by one.

Emboldened further, Luan'er turned her head once more and, looking down her nose at Xianglan from her position of superiority, called out, "Xianglan, hand me one of those back-rest cushions! This wooden partition is far too cold, and leaning against it for too long will make you sick!"

This entire performance left Xianglan torn between laughter and exasperation. Had she not been weighed down by her own heavy thoughts, she might have laughed outright. She mused inwardly, "This routine of concubines vying for favor is inherently tragic, pathetic, and utterly tedious, but with a character like Luan'er involved, it actually takes on a rather amusing charm." With that, she handed the cushion she had been leaning against over to Luan'er.

Luan'er accepted it with a hum of a tune, but instead of leaning against it, she simply tucked it beneath her legs. When Lin Jinlou noticed this, Huamei hurriedly chimed in, "Quick, bring that new green-damask ink-patterned cushion I made yesterday over to Sister Xianglan." True to her word, Xique retrieved two brand-new cushions. Huamei even offered to yield her own seat to Xianglan, but Xianglan kept her lips tightly sealed, refusing to speak a word as she cast her gaze elsewhere.

Luan'er muttered under her breath, "Just look at those grand airs, pretending to be some pure-as-ice, clean-as-jade young lady of a wealthy house." Though her voice was soft, everyone in the room heard it loud and clear. Snuggling up closer to Lin Jinlou once more, she held her hand out right before him and said, "Young master, you smashed that jade bracelet you gave me last time because I didn't like it, and you promised to give me a pair of gold-threaded agate bracelets instead, but I haven't seen them yet. Let's make it clear beforehand—if they're too cheap, I won't have the face to wear them. They have to be worth at least a hundred taels of silver." As she spoke, she turned her face sideways, darting a sidelong glance full of provocation toward Xianglan.

Xianglan was momentarily taken aback, then found the whole thing darkly amusing. She thought to herself, "Even if Lin Jinlou were to hand the entire Lin family over to you, what on earth does that have to do with me? Does she take me for one of the women in this house who treats that violent brute like some precious treasure?" She shifted her gaze away and simply stared in a trance at the ribbon hanging from her own skirt.

Huamei's smile faltered, her tone dripping with veiled barbs as she interjected, "Good heavens above, a single pair of bracelets costing a hundred taels? I'm afraid only grand madams and young ladies of high birth are fit to wear such things! A few days ago, I made several sets of clothes for the young master, and only because he was pleased did he let fifty taels be drawn from the accounts so I could have three gold hairpins made. If I compare myself to you and your hundred-tael demands, I truly must be like a burnt, soggy fritter."

Luan'er sneered, "This is because our young master is willing to bestow them upon me. If you have the ability, go ask the young master for them yourself."

Sensing a quarrel was about to break out, Lin Jinlou dropped his wine cup onto the table with a sharp thud, instantly plunging the surrounding area into silence. Not a single soul dared to make a sound. Lin Jinlou glanced at Luan'er and instructed, "Pick a tune and sing."

Luan'er promptly ordered Cunxin to bring her pipa. After plucking the strings a couple of times to tune them, she began to strum and sing: "Fragrant grasses drip with pearly dew, the emerald vault conceals the icy moon, gazing as far as the river meets the sky..." She had barely sung the opening line when Huamei covered her mouth with a chuckle and said, "Oh, sister is singing The Mandarin Duck Dream again. Every time we have a banquet, nine times out of ten you sing this very piece—especially when you reach the lines, 'In this world, if a woman possesses a fraction of beauty, she suffers a fraction of torment; if gifted a fraction of talent, she adds a fraction of karmic tribulation'—you tear up as if you truly fancied yourself another Liu Yanbo."

This very piece, The Mandarin Duck Dream, happened to be Luan'er's absolute favorite suite of songs. It told the tale of the maid Liu Yanbo, who, renowned for both her beauty and artistic talent, caught the eye of her master, Wang Huifeng, and was taken in as a concubine. Later, Wang Huifeng fell victim to false accusations and was thrown into prison, scattering his family to the winds. Only Liu Yanbo ran about frantically on his behalf, enduring countless hardships before finally encountering a regional imperial inspector. Liu Yanbo cleared Wang Huifeng's name, restored him to his official post, and was welcomed by him as his formal wife, leading to a harmonious life together for a hundred years. Every time Luan'er played and sang this piece, she would grow emotional, fancying herself the loyal and courageous Liu Yanbo—gifted in both appearance and talent yet cursed with a lowly birth, wondering how many long years she would have to endure before finally rising to become the true mistress of the house. Because of this, she frequently performed this repertoire for Lin Jinlou.

Today, Huamei had ruthlessly pierced through that little ambition of hers. Stung by anger and embarrassment, Luan'er tossed the pipa straight onto the kang and snapped, "I'm a slow-witted person who only knows how to play this single piece. Why doesn't Sister Huamei sing a tune for us to hear?"

Without declining, Huamei immediately ordered someone to fetch her usual guqin. Plucking the strings a few times, she smiled and asked, "What tune would the young master like to hear? A few days ago, the household invited a troupe of actresses who performed a newly staged play called Dreams Amidst the Flowers. It featured several clever and novel melodies, and since the young master said they sounded fresh, I might as well sing one of those." After a brief moment of thought, she began to strum the guqin and sang: "Oh, what a fine fair maiden powdering her cheeks and painting her brows; oh, what a clever and exquisite little schemer. You bestow your myriad charms upon the eastern wind, you entrust your countless calculations to drifting clouds, lamenting only that for half a lifetime your heart has drifted aimlessly in suspense—ah, little do you know that since ancient times, both adversity and prosperity have long been predetermined." Her voice was low, yet she delivered the tune with a graceful and playful cadence. After singing, she poured a cup of wine for herself, seized the opportunity to pour another for Lin Jinlou, and offered the bean curd roll to his lips with an enchanting smile. Flattering him, she coaxed, "I've drunk the wine and sung the tune; won't the young master at least grant me some face? Everything before was my fault, and I promise I'll never dare do it again."

Lin Jinlou glanced at Huamei and ate the roll. Huamei let out a secret sigh of relief, her face instantly blooming with joy.

Feeling somewhat resentful, Luan'er picked up her pipa and retorted, "As for those little tunes, they're nothing more than simple trinkets—who wouldn't know how to play them?" With that, she began to sing: "Only seeing the garden full of silks and satins, pearls and jade shining bright, how could one know that the mirror's reflection and the moon in the water are false affections? Only hoping for long-lasting affection beneath the embroidered bed curtains and twin quilts, yet finding it hard to conceal an innate nature of coquetry, vanity, and extravagance. Beyond the curtained horizon, my dear, nothing remains but a hollow reputation of empty tales." Her voice was clear and resonant, and she sang exceptionally well, wielding a masterful and practiced hand on the pipa.

Xianglan could not help casting a sidelong glance of her own. She saw Luan'er leaning against the wooden partition, dressed in a small jacket of bright red silk gauze, bound with a willow-green sweat-rag, and wearing a pleated skirt of tricolor satin from beneath which peeked a pair of lake-blue embroidered shoes strung with glass beads. Her hair was piled high into a cloud-like bun adorned with pearl-and-kingfisher plum-blossom ornaments, pinned with a phoenix hairpin embedded with precious jewels and pearls. From her earlobes hung purple-agate and gold-inlaid earrings the size of kumquats, making her melon-seeded face appear even whiter by contrast, while her delicate lips and slender eyes possessed a distinctive charm of their own.

Lin Jinlou let out a word of praise. Instantly glowing with pride, Luan'er turned her head to look at Xianglan and said with a mocking smile, "How about you sing a piece for us, too?"