Against the Current - Chapter 144
Chapter 144 - Ointment
Drifting between wakefulness and sleep, Xianglan heard the door open and voices murmuring in the outer room. She was far too exhausted, however, and merely rolled over and went back to sleep. A moment later, footsteps approached as someone lowered their voice and said, "Young Master, should this maid wake Xianglan so she can come serve in the bedroom..."
"There's no need," Lin Jinlou replied. With that, he walked over to the bed and lifted the bed curtains to find Xianglan sleeping soundly inside, wrapped in a thin quilt with her dark hair splayed across the mandarin-duck pillow. Lin Jinlou slipped off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, pulled back Xianglan's blanket, and slipped in beside her. Gathering her into his arms from behind, he was greeted by a wave of faint fragrance that inexplicably relaxed his entire body. A minor incident had occurred earlier that evening: a capable commander under his command had beaten the prefect's concubine-born son, though not severely. While such a matter could be big or small, the prefect knew how to handle things and immediately entrusted an acquaintance to specially send over an invitation, inviting him to drink at the Banqueting Pavilion and repeatedly claiming to be a student of Lin Jinlou's father. Mindful of face at every level, Lin Jinlou had no choice but to go. Amidst the flush of wine and lively atmosphere, the prefect began treating him like a sworn brother and summoned several heavily painted, celebrated courtesans to play music and pour wine, forcing Lin Jinlou to entertain the social niceties. By the time the second watch had passed and his head felt heavy with wine, he finally took his leave.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Jinlou pulled the soft, warm body closer into his embrace, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
In the darkness, Xianglan opened her eyes wide. She had already woken up when Lin Jinlou climbed onto the bed, but she hadn't dared to make the slightest move. Lin Jinlou reeked of wine and powder, and a single sniff told her precisely where he had spent his evening. Xianglan told herself to endure it; after all, the sprawling Lin household was entirely at Lin Jinlou's mercy, and even his own parents couldn't keep him in check, so what could she possibly do? His temperament was tyrannical and ruthless. Just yesterday, her own stubborn streak had earned her a slap across the face, and her body was still aching terribly. Today, he had publicly humiliated Luan'er, perfectly illustrating his own words: "When the young master elevates you, you are a mistress; when the young master doesn't elevate you, you're worth less than a servant." Xianglan knew she wasn't someone who failed to grasp the situation. Stuck living with such a living Yama, why make herself miserable? Besides, Lin Jinlou was a thoroughly profligate playboy who had never been steadfast in his affections toward women. In a year or six months, once the novelty of her wore off—or if he chanced upon someone who moved him even more—he would likely seek out a new woman. She would just take things one step at a time; hadn't she managed to survive through far more agonizing days before?
After comforting herself and spacing out quietly for a while, Xianglan finally closed her eyes and drifted slowly to sleep. Even then, her sleep remained restless. The next morning, just as the sky was turning pale, Xianglan woke up still lying on her side within Lin Jinlou's embrace, having remained in the exact same position all night. Lin Jinlou's breathing was long and steady as he continued to sleep soundly. Moving with extreme caution, Xianglan lifted his arm and slowly tried to sit up, but unexpectedly, he caught her undergarment and gave a sharp tug. Xianglan gasped in alarm as she tumbled back into Lin Jinlou's arms. She heard him let out a low chuckle as he pressed kisses against the root of her ear and her neck.
With heavy, ragged breaths, Lin Jinlou rolled over to pin Xianglan beneath him, capturing her lips and letting his hands roam across her body. Shocked, Xianglan managed to wriggle free, murmuring incoherently, "No..." as her small hands tried to bat his hands away. "Don't..."
Panting heavily, Lin Jinlou raised his head and locked gazes with Xianglan's eyes, which shone like black agate. Tears were already streaming down Xianglan's face as she choked out, "My body hasn't healed yet, and I still need to apply the ointment today... I..." Her weeping was truly pitiful, and her entire body was trembling uncontrollably, evidently frightened out of her wits.
Lin Jinlou let out a long breath, the fiery rage within him instantly turning to ice. He had intended to stroke the girl's hair and offer a word of comfort, but the moment he raised his hand, Xianglan instinctively shrank her neck back, fearing he was about to strike her.
A heavy block seemed to form in Lin Jinlou's chest. He rolled off the bed, tossed back the curtains, and bellowed, "Is anyone out there? Have you all dropped dead?!" Xiaoquan, who was on night duty, heard Lin Jinlou shouting and hurried over in a panic, scrambling to help him put on his clothes and shoes. Terrified of Lin Jinlou to begin with, she made mistakes in her haste, which only provoked his temper further. Fortunately, Lianxin, Chunling, Nuanyue, Rushuang, and the other maids arrived at the sound of his voice to wait upon him as he washed and dressed.
Listening to the chaotic commotion outside, Xianglan silently pulled the quilt back over herself and curled into a tight ball.
Stepping into his court boots, Lin Jinlou tucked a riding crop with pure gold floral clasps into his belt, gulped down half a bowl of soup, and glanced back at the carved wooden bed. The patterned soft-silk curtains hung limply down, hiding whatever condition the person inside was in. Lin Jinlou muttered angrily to himself, "Ungrateful, unfeeling ingrate! I treat her with all the kindness in the world, yet she doesn't know how to serve people or say a couple of sweet words. Aside from crying, all she does is weep, as if I owe her eight strings of cash. If her body is truly hurting, as if I'd actually devour her."
Lin Jinlou's expression was so fierce that even the little maid carrying his breakfast trembled with apprehension. Everyone kept their eyes fixed on their noses and their minds focused inward, maintaining absolute silence. After hastily eating a few bites, Lin Jinlou prepared to leave, but before departing, he suddenly remembered something, paused, and asked, "Where is Chunling?"
Chunling scurried over without a moment's delay and stood with her hands lowered and folded: "Young Master."
Lin Jinlou instructed, "Go to the cabinet by the bedside in the bedroom, get the bottle of ointment with the yellow slip pasted on it, and give it to Xianglan to use. If she doesn't get better soon, call a doctor immediately."
Chunling nodded repeatedly, bobbing her head like a chick pecking at rice: "Yes, yes, absolutely."
With that, Lin Jinlou strode out of the room.
Meanwhile, Xianglan lay in bed, and after a long while, the outside quieted down. Staring blankly at the canopy of the bed for a long time, she finally heard Chunling's soft voice calling from outside, "It's almost theå·³ hour (9:00 AM), time for you to get up, miss."
Xianglan got out of bed, put on her everyday clothes, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and applied scented cream. When she looked into the mirror, yesterday's swelling and redness had completely faded, revealing once more a face as fair and delicate as a blossoming flower. Chunling nimbly combed her hair, while Xiaoquan arranged several dishes of exquisite side dishes on the table, muttering under her breath, "The young master is so terrifying. His face looked as dark as Lord Bao this morning, and his shouts were louder than thunder. My goodness, he scared my heart right out of my chest."
Chunling remarked, "You need to break that flustered habit of yours. You were probably the one who displeased the young master this morning."
Xiaoquan mumbled inwardly, It wasn't me who displeased the young master, it was clearly Xianglan. She shot a quick glance toward Xianglan. Catching her drift, Chunling glared back at her, causing Xiaoquan to stick out her tongue and scurry away.
Chunling brought a bowl of soup over to Xianglan and said, "At least drink a little. You barely ate anything yesterday."
Xianglan slowly finished the soup, ate a meat pastry, and picked at some vegetarian dishes.
Seeing that Xianglan had eaten, Chunling heaved a sigh of relief and turned toward the bedroom, where Lianxin and Tinglan were doing needlework by the doorway. Like Luan'er, Lianxin was a maid bestowed upon Lin Jinlou by the Old Dowager. In the Zhichun Lodge, she was treated according to first-class standards, but Lianxin always adhered strictly to a maid's duties and never approached Lin Jinlou of her own accord. Moreover, while she was neat and clean, her attire was never flashy, making her blend into the background of Zhichun Lodge over time. Later, when Zhao Yuechan left and Zhichun Lodge emptied out, leaving the main rooms short of maids, Lianxin had been promoted to oversee things alongside Shuran. Yet she always deferred to Shuran in everything, busying herself only with her own tasks without ever uttering superfluous words. Whenever anyone asked her about anything, she would simply shake her head and claim ignorance of all three things.
Seeing Chunling approach, Tinglan stood up with a smile and asked, "What brings you in here?"
Chunling replied, "Before leaving, the young master told me to come into the bedroom and get the bottle of ointment with the yellow slip from the bedside cabinet for Xianglan to use."
Unfamiliar with the item, Tinglan looked over at Lianxin. Lianxin paused in surprise, then stood up with a smile: "I know where it's kept." She accompanied Chunling into the room and retrieved a small white porcelain bottle from the exquisite carved ebony cabinet beside the bed, handing it to Chunling with a smile. "Xianglan is truly fortunate. After the young master performed meritorious service and reported to the court that his old wounds had flared up, the palace bestowed several bottles of this ointment upon him. It's said to be tribute sent from foreign lands."
Chunling sighed softly and murmured, "Ah, who knows whether she has good fortune or bad. Actually, Xianglan is a good-natured person... easygoing, unbothered by trivialities, and clear-headed about everything; her only flaw is that she's far too stubborn. The young master basically forced an ox to drink water by dragging her into the estate. When two stubborn tempers collide, how could anything good ever come of it?"
As Lianxin was on good terms with Chunling, she let out a sympathetic sigh of her own and said, "You should advise her more often. What's the point of locking horns with the young master? Given the young master's temperament, who among ordinary people could endure it? People avoid him whenever they can. When the Old Dowager first sent me to Zhichun Lodge, I had my doubts. Luan'er is always striving to get ahead; watching her coldly, I noticed the young master blows east one day and west the next without any consistency. You really should advise Xianglan to plan for her future. A woman's life is already set like this—what else can she hope for down the line?"
Chunling sighed repeatedly as well, chatting with Lianxin a bit longer before taking the ointment and leaving.
As she stepped out of the bedroom, she happened to run into Shuran, who glanced at what she was holding in her hand and paused in surprise. At that moment, Cunxin was standing outside, making hand gestures toward Shuran through the carved wooden window. Shuran had no choice but to step outside and ask from the covered walkway, "What is it?"
Cunxin lowered her voice and said, "Did elder sister hear about what happened at the dining table yesterday? Luan'er cried all night because of it, threatening to hang herself and shear her hair to become a Buddhist nun. I reasoned with her every which way before finally calming her down, and now this morning I heard the young master spent the night in the eastern side-room again... Sister knows how it is. Whenever the young master goes out drinking, he always returns only in the morning, and the girl gets jealous and starts making a fuss. I couldn't handle her, so I had to come ask Sister to come over."
Feeling a headache coming on, Shuran followed Cunxin back to Luan'er's room. There, they found Luan'er sitting on the bed with disheveled hair, weeping as she snipped away at an embroidery pouch. Shuran walked over, sat down on the edge of the mattress, and said, "Such a fine piece of work, what are you cutting it to pieces for?"
Luan'er threw herself straight into Shuran's arms and sobbed, "Older cousin... I have no face left in this world!"
Shuran put on a stern expression and scolded, "What do you mean you have no face left? People make their own dignity! If you keep carrying on with these childish tantrums, I won't help you anymore!"
Frightened, Luan'er wept even harder: "When people saw me doing well before, they all flocked to my side. Now that I've lost face, even you won't care about me! Fine, then just let me die!" With tears streaming down her face, she threw herself flat onto the bed.