Against the Current - Chapter 150
Chapter 150 - Living Under the Same Roof (Part 1)
Xianglan was startled, and realizing his meaning a split second later, her face turned as red as a dyed cloth, practically dripping with blood. She raised her head in disbelief, glaring straight at Lin Jinlou.
Acting as though nothing at all were the matter, Lin Jinlou said, "Eat up." He picked up a morsel of food with his chopsticks, and seeing Xianglan's dumbfounded, little expression, he chuckled softly again. Using barely any effort, he pulled Xianglan over to his side, drew her into his embrace, and picked up his sunflower wine cup, holding it to her lips. Xianglan wore an expression of utter disgust and turned her head away to avoid it.
Lin Jinlou arched a brow, pinched Xianglan's chin, and applied pressure with his hand. Feeling a sharp pain, Xianglan could not help but part her lips. Lin Jinlou promptly poured the entire contents of the wine cup down her throat. The fiery, pungent liquor rushed straight up to her windpipe, choking her so severely that she collapsed against the adjacent bolster, coughing uncontrollably.
Lin Jinlou watched her cough as if she were at death's door with a cold, detached eye, then said flatly, "Don't choose the toast only to be forced to drink the forfeit. Little Xianglan, whatever this lord tells you to do, you can only obediently follow. You've already provoked this lord twice today; if you provoke me a third time, I'm afraid it won't go quite so smoothly. Do you understand?"
Xianglan turned her head away. Catching the chilling glint flickering in Lin Jinlou's eyes, she thought to herself, Indeed, now that my whole person is entirely in his grasp, why must I be so unbending and fail to read the room? If I force a smile to please him, can't I make things a bit more comfortable for myself? Consider it acting out a play—true or false, isn't life just a matter of playing a role anyway?
She continuously consoled herself, yet somehow tears began to fall anyway, rolling like oversized pearls down her snow-white, jade-like face, completely unstoppable.
Lin Jinlou pulled her up once more, patting her hair and back much as one would soothe a little kitten, and said, "Alright, alright, stop crying. You're always acting like such a poor little pitiful thing. Won't there be peace under heaven if you just behave yourself?"
Xianglan opened her tear-filled eyes. Lin Jinlou's face had already shifted back into that casual, carefree smile. He picked up a teal-blue handkerchief and gently dabbed away her tears. Xianglan muttered in a low voice, "I'll do it myself," and drew her own handkerchief from her waist to dry her eyes.
Lin Jinlou picked up the piece of chicken breast once more and brought it to Xianglan's lips. Xianglan stared at the meat—it glistened with oil, and she didn't want to swallow a single bite, yet she didn't dare cross Lin Jinlou's will either. Just as she was about to open her mouth, Lin Jinlou put the chicken breast down instead, picked up a helping of shad, dipped it into the seasoned sauce, placed it on a small dish, and pushed it toward Xianglan, saying, "Eat this instead. It's light and fresh, and the meat on the belly has no bones." With that, he popped that piece of chicken breast straight into his own mouth.
Xianglan slowly lifted her chopsticks and picked up a tiny bit of the fish. The shad meat was tender and melted on the tongue—a rare delicacy.
Lin Jinlou picked up a few more dishes for her with his chopsticks and said, "Eat it all. I noticed you're looking rather slender; you need to build yourself back up properly. Chunling said you only ate a single pastry and drank a bowl of soup at noon today. That bit of cat-food wouldn't even be enough to fill the gap between your teeth. If you eat this little, you'll be falling ill by tomorrow." Glancing at Xianglan's outfit—a pale onion-yellow silk-padded jacket over a rose-purple skirt, which set off her slender waist—he smiled and said, "Was this dress made by someone I ordered? I just knew it; you have a slim waist, and you look wonderful wearing this."
This dress was actually one of the four seasons of clothing from the two chests Lin Jinlou had previously ordered to be prepared. Chunling had taken it out for her to wear, and seeing that it was a properly modest and conventional style, she had changed into it. She certainly hadn't expected that Lin Jinlou had commissioned this dress specifically to admire her waist. Inwardly, Xianglan cursed, Shameless, shameless, shameless. She simply kept her head down and slowly ate her food.
Lin Jinlou poured and drank by himself, continuing to eat for a while longer. Once Xianglan finished her porridge, he finally ordered the servants to clear away the leftover plates. The two of them rinsed their mouths and wiped their hands, and the maids once again laid out fine teas and fruits, serving two steaming cups of tea.
Lin Jinlou took a sip of tea, tossed a key from his waist into Xianglan's lap, leaned back against the headrest, and said, "This is the key to the innermost drawer at the head of the bed in the bedchamber. Inside there is a parcel of three hundred taels of loose silver pieces, along with several strings of copper coins. Whenever you need money, just take it from there. When the silver inside runs out, this lord will simply put more in."
Xianglan kept her head down and remained silent, while Lin Jinlou paid it no mind whatsoever.
After a moment, Jixiang arrived with a letter to report on a matter, and Lin Jinlou went into the outer hall to attend to official business. Xianglan let out a long, heavy breath and gulped down a large mouthful of tea. Lin Jinlou was mercurial and tyrannical by nature; being in his company kept her on tenterhooks. She privately resolved that once she had a spare moment, she must seek out Shuran for guidance and ask how on earth she managed to live in peace with this living King of Hell.
Who knew how much time had passed? As Xianglan sat leaning against the headrest, drifting into a half-sleep, Lin Jinlou returned. Calling out loudly to the maids outside, he said, "Chunling, gather your mistress's things. Starting from tonight, she will sleep in the inner bedchamber."
Xianglan was jolted with shock. She immediately sat up, her face draining of color and the palms of her hands slick with cold sweat.
Lin Jinlou walked over to her, bent down, and pinched her cheek, saying, "Because of that harridan Zhao Yuechan, this lord previously moved out to sleep in the study. Now that she's gone, I should have moved back in long ago. Starting today, you are to diligently serve me up close and lie in the same bed with me. Are you happy? I had you reselect the curtains and bedding for the room earlier today, and I went to take a look just now—it's simple, clean, and elegant." With that, he straightened up and turned to leave, tossing back a final remark as he went: "Once you're all packed, come inside." And with that, he departed.
Xianglan had no idea how she managed to wash up and make her way into the bedchamber of the main room. The space was enormous, and even with numerous precious curiosities, luxurious furniture, and furnishings scattered about, it still felt vast and empty. Lin Jinlou was half-reclining on the bed, propped up by several pillows behind his back. He was stripped to the waist, covered from the waist down by an extremely thin quilt—he was presumably stark naked.
Xianglan's breathing instantly grew ragged, her legs feeling as heavy as if they were filled with lead, completely unable to move.
Seeing Xianglan enter with her raven hair cascading loosely about her shoulders and wearing a small white undergarment—which only served to make her face look all the more like peach blossoms and her skin as white as snow—Lin Jinlou swallowed hard, beckoned to her, and said, "Come here."
This was, after all, a matter of "you can run from the first day of the lunar month, but you can't run from the fifteenth." Xianglan closed her eyes, resigned to her fate, and walked over. Lin Jinlou patted the empty space beside him, and Xianglan sat down, trembling as she kicked off her shoes and crawled up onto the bed.
The moment the bed curtains dropped, Lin Jinlou pulled her tightly into his arms. Xianglan caught a whiff of wine mixed with a potent, masculine scent, and the memories of that night came flooding back like a breaching flood. Her entire body stiffened, and she lay rigidly straight on the bed.
With the warm, soft jade of her body held in his embrace and his skin burning hot to the touch, Lin Jinlou reached out to untie Xianglan's garments. Pressing his lips to hers, he sucked and nibbled, his hot breath washing over her face as his breathing grew heavy. He peeled away Xianglan's undergarment, exposing vast expanses of smooth, snow-white skin that resembled the finest satin. He couldn't resist pressing kisses to it, beginning to nip lightly, capturing a trembling bud and grasping her mesmerizing, soft curves.
Xianglan's eyes flew wide open as she felt a burning hardness pressing rigidly against her lower body. Trembling all over with fear, she pleaded, "No, don't..."