Against the Current - Chapter 146

Chapter 146 - Serving Tea

Lin Jinlou turned and walked out, only to see Lin Dongling, Lin Dongxiu, and Lin Dongqi walking into the hall from outside, with Lin Ting lagging behind lazily. Lin Ting drawled, "Big brother is a busy man. Didn't you see he's in the middle of changing clothes to go out? Do you all still want to sponge a meal here? I think we might as well skip the food and hurry up and invite the beauty out so little lord here can take a look. What kind of precious treasure is she, wrapped up so tightly?"

Lin Dongling found a chair and sat down, saying, "Indeed. We sisters were just discussing what kind of celestial beauty could have infatuated our eldest brother so much that he specially brought her in from outside the estate. It's been two days, and he hasn't even let the old matriarch catch a glimpse." As she spoke, she exchanged a glance with Lin Dongxiu.

Lin Jinlou smiled faintly and said, "I was wondering why you all showed up in such neat formation today, walking hand in hand to the Zhichun Pavilion to see me. I even thought you'd all turned over a new leaf, understanding the grand righteousness of fraternal harmony and what filial piety and brotherly duty mean. So you actually ran over to my place to freeload."

Lin Ting swaggered over to the arhat bed, slumped lazily against a phoenix-patterned dark floral bolster of rose-red brocade, and said, "Freeload? We've already come in, and you haven't even poured us a cup of water."

Shuran had already brought tea to the炕 table on the arhat bed, smiling as she said, "Third Young Master, please have this cup."

Lin Ting said, "Sister Shuran is still the only one who knows how to care for people. If this isn't this year's new tea, this little lord won't drink it."

Lin Jinlou gave the back of Lin Ting's head a smack and said, "You little monkey, you're still being picky and choosy when tea has already been bestowed upon you."

Lin Ting rubbed his head, feigning grievance as he said, "As a younger brother, aren't I worried about you, brother? Yesterday you drank to that degree and still rode a horse back. I was terrified you'd feel unwell, so I even had Suju brew a hangover soup." With that, he gestured toward the little maid following behind him, who placed a food box on the table.

Lin Jinlou said, "By the time your hangover soup gets here, even cold dishes will have warmed up."

Lin Ting drew out his voice into a whine, "Right, you have your own sweet beauty washing her hands to make soup for you." He inched closer to Lin Jinlou and lowered his voice, "Did you eagerly rush back last night just for her? I was wondering: usually, brother, you would have stayed the night at the pleasure house. Miss Ruixian was looking at you left and right, her big eyes practically melting with water, yet you completely ignored her and hurried back in a rush, without even taking a carriage. Tsk, what kind of precious treasure are you hiding at home that made you tear back in such a fiery haste? Could she possibly be more gorgeous than Ruixian?"

Lin Jinlou slanted a look at Lin Ting and said, "What? Have your eyes on Ruixian? If you have the guts and aren't afraid of family disciplinary rules, brother will pay the silver to redeem her maiden status for you. How about that?"

Lin Ting was actually somewhat tempted, but after a brief moment of thought, he waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Forget it. Right now I don't hold a shred of official rank or a half-official post, and the old man already looks at me unfavorably. Going out to stroll and find some amusement is one thing, but if I were to actually spend the night, grandfather would break my legs if he found out."

While the two of them were whispering away, Lin Dongqi tapped a small lacquered table with her folding fan and smiled, "What kind of private whispering are the two of you doing, leaving us sisters hanging here? What kind of behavior is this?"

Lin Jinlou said, "Good sister, if this brother remembers correctly, you're getting married at the end of this month, aren't you? Instead of obediently staying in your room embroidering your dowry, you've run over here to join the fun. Could it be you still want your brother to add to your dowry?"

Lin Dongqi's face flushed a bright red in an instant. She spat out, "You have not a single proper word in your mouth. I came here to see the new sister-in-law."

Lin Dongxiu picked a honey-glazed apricot from an ebony mother-of-pearl eight-treasure box, popped it into her mouth, and said, "Alright, stop keeping us in suspense. Eldest brother, invite the beauty out."

Lin Jinlou then raised his head and gave Shuran a subtle gesture. Shuran nodded slightly and went into the eastern inner chamber to call Xianglan. Entering, she saw Xianglan still propped against the windowsill, so she stepped forward and said, "Miss Xianglan, change into some clothes for meeting guests. The young masters and young misses are all waiting to see you."

Having heard every single word spoken outside quite clearly from the inner chamber, Xianglan found the whole ordeal utterly vexing and could not help knitting her brows.

Shuran quickly persuaded her, "Just go out. It's nothing more than showing your face."

Chunling also advised from the side, "In this situation, you have to save face for the eldest master no matter what. You'd better go, alright."

With no other choice, Xianglan had no option but to change into guest-receiving attire and step out. Lin Jinlou and the others were chatting and laughing outside when they suddenly saw a beauty emerge slowly from within. She wore a silver-red crepe gauze jacket and a plain white Hangzhou-silk painted trailing skirt. Her hair was simply coiled into a bun, adorned with only three exquisite gold-wire flanking-phoenix hairpins without any other jewelry. Her powdered face was cast downward, and her movements were entirely elegant, making her look as if she had stepped right out of a painting. She curtsied gracefully and said, "Greetings, everyone."

Lin Ting was somewhat dazed. His body unconsciously leaned forward, and he stretched out his neck, thinking, "This is... this is..." After sizing her up and down several times, he snapped back to his senses, glanced at Lin Jinlou, and thought to himself, "I haven't even seen her face yet, but just this figure and aura are countless mountains ahead of Ruixian. She looks even more ethereal than any woman I've ever seen. No wonder she's got a brother who is so used to rouge and powder wrapped around her little finger, refusing to keep her as an outside mistress and insisting on bringing her straight into the estate. Earlier, third and fourth sister tried to goad me into coming, and I didn't even want to. I'm fortunate I made this trip, otherwise I never would have laid eyes on eldest brother's dearest flesh and blood." Seeing that Xianglan was lowering her head and preparing to retreat again, he hurriedly smiled and said, "So this is the new sister-in-law? Oh, come on now, since everyone's out, shouldn't you pour us a few cups of tea?"

Lin Dongxiu chimed in with barbed words, "Precisely, you should at least serve tea to the rest of us. Leaving in such a hurried rush—could it be you look down on our lot?"

Xianglan raised her eyes slightly to look at Lin Jinlou. A smile hung at the corners of Lin Jinlou's lips as he said to Xianglan, "Since that's the case, just go ahead and pour the tea for them."

Chunling hurriedly produced a set of celadon banana-leaf tea utensils, numbering over twenty small cups. After scalding them with hot water, she and Shuran brewed the tea together, placed the cups on a tray, and handed it to Xianglan. Xianglan thought to herself bitterly, "I'll just pretend I'm performing a play on a stage." She closed her eyes briefly and served the eldest, Lin Dongqi, first.

Lin Dongqi accepted it with a smile, tilted her head to examine Xianglan's face, covered her mouth with a handkerchief and chuckled a few times, then pulled the nearby Shuran over to whisper a few words in her ear. Shuran also smiled as she replied, and both of them broke into laughter.

Xianglan then went to serve Lin Ting. Lin Ting took the tea, looked Xianglan up and down, rubbed his chin, and said, "What is the new sister-in-law's name? Have I ever seen you before? How come you look... rather familiar?"

Xianglan's face flushed crimson. She bit her lip and stepped aside. Lin Jinlou kicked Lin Ting's shin and said, "Pull back that thievish, shifty look of yours. Every time you see a pretty face you claim you've seen them before, without even bothering to check whose person this is."

Lin Ting also blushed, clutched his leg, rolled his eyes, and muttered, "No, it's really not... I genuinely think she looks somewhat... familiar."

Xianglan happened to be serving Lin Dongling at that moment. Lin Dongling glanced at Xianglan, held her teacup, and said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, "Of course Third Brother finds her familiar. Don't you even know who she is? Why, she used to be a lowly bondservant right here in our Lin family, who later climbed up the high branches and went to the Song family. Back then, she put on quite a majestic and impressive display, frightening both me and Fourth Sister so much we didn't even dare to speak. With such a master-overshadowing servant around, she really gave us quite a fright on behalf of Aunt and Sister Tanchai."

"Third Sister, how can you use the word 'frightened'? Back then, the way Brother Yifei treated her with such tender gentleness was truly a splendid vignette of mutual affection between a loving scholar and a willing maiden. Brother Yifei was completely content to let her fool him; what was there for the two of us to 'frighten' over, or worry so much about? It really wasn't worth it." Lin Dongxiu cracked melon seeds and picked up the thread of the conversation with a beaming smile. "I heard that the moment she arrived, Fangsi, who used to serve Brother Yifei, hanged herself to death. If you ask me, Eldest Brother's house pets like Parrot, Myna, and Luan'er are the ones who ought to be worrying."

The room fell completely silent; even the drop of a pin could be heard.

As it turned out, Lin Dongling and Lin Dongxiu had overheard the maidservants and gossiping hags chattering about a newcomer arriving in Lin Jinlou's quarters—a girl named Xianglan, who had originally been a maid in the estate and had once been driven out by Zhao Yuechan. Once the sisters heard this, how could they fail to understand? Having suffered heavy losses at Xianglan's hands in the past and harboring deep resentment in their hearts, the two of them put their heads together and summoned Lin Dongqi and Lin Ting. On the surface, they claimed they were coming to see Lin Jinlou's new addition, but in reality, they had come to rain on Xianglan's parade and exact revenge for that past grudge.

Lin Dongqi gave Lin Dongxiu a tug, shoved a piece of preserved apricot into her mouth, and said, "You must have had a nightmare last night, talking absolute nonsense. Hurry up and eat something sweet to plug up that mouth of yours."

A smile still lingered on Lin Jinlou's face as he unconcernedly picked up his teacup, blew on it, and took a sip. Only the veins on his temples were already faintly bulging.

Xianglan's complexion was pale, devoid of any expression. She carried the tea over to Lin Dongxiu's side. Lin Dongxiu looked at Lin Jinlou and, seeing no sign of displeasure on his face, grew all the bolder. She arched an eyebrow, took the tea, and sneered, "To think you could even scheme your way back into the Lin family—you truly have quite the set of means."

Lin Ting stood dumbfounded. Half the tea in his hand spilled out, and pointing at Xianglan while staring at Lin Jinlou, he blurted out, "She, she is Yifei's... why is she at your place?"

Lin Ting was far too familiar with the name "Xianglan." At first, Song Ke had begged him to ask Lin Jinlou for this person, only to be rebuffed by a single remark from Lin Jinlou. Later on, he heard that Xianglan had been driven out by Zhao Yuechan, and somehow ended up at the Song household. Since he and Song Ke were sworn friends who frequently visited the Song residence, he had caught sight of Xianglan a few times, though Xianglan had always kept her distance. Knowing that her status was different from others, Lin Ting hadn't dared to examine her closely, and thus hadn't seen her clearly. The last time he ever heard of Xianglan was when Song Ke fell upon hard times and was forced to take Zheng Jingzhen as his wife. Song Ke had drunk too much alcohol, repeatedly raving about how clever, gentle, and self-respecting Xianglan was, how resolute she was against becoming a concubine for anyone, and how reluctant he was to let her go. When he finished speaking, he had embraced Lin Ting and wept bitterly... Yet mere months after that incident, how on earth had this woman named Xianglan become his eldest brother Lin Jinlou's newly taken concubine?

Lin Dongxiu burst into a sharp laugh and said, "You shouted 'New sister-in-law, new sister-in-law' for half the day, and you didn't even know why she's here? Third Brother, have you been sleeping your wits away?"

Lin Ting dropped his jaw wide open and stammered, "This, this... can this be possible?"

Lin Dongling sneered, "Why wouldn't it be? Brother Yifei married the grand chancellor's daughter, and comparing the two side by side, one can naturally tell who is the fox-spirit casting spells..."

Before her voice had even faded, Lin Dongqi gave a cough, glared fiercely at Dongling and Dongxiu, and said, "Third Sister, Fourth Sister, we've seen the person now, let's head back." In her heart, she thought: Third sister is still as stiff-headed as ever. Now that Xianglan is Eldest Brother's woman, calling her a fox-spirit casting spells is no different from slapping Eldest Brother across the face. And Fourth Sister's tongue was altogether too vicious today; she must have forgotten what kind of temper Eldest Brother has.

Unexpectedly, the two sisters Dongling and Dongxiu remained seated and refused to budge.