Against the Current - Chapter 163

Chapter 163 - Prying Eyes

Du Bin had long harbored illicit intentions, yet he played the submissive servant and plied Lin Dongling with every ounce of feigned gentleness. As days turned into weeks, Lin Dongling's guard gradually melted away, and she fell deeply in love with him, willingly entrusting her entire heart and soul into his hands. Now, things had naturally culminated to this point.

Trembling all over at the sight, Lin Dongxiu backed away hastily, turned on her heel, and bolted. She did not stop until she reached a bamboo grove not far away, where she slumped against a cluster of bamboo stalks, collapsing onto the ground and gasping for breath.

To think that Lin Dongling would actually engage in such filthy, disgraceful behavior with a man! What should she do now? If such a scandalous affair came to light, it would ruin her own prospects of making a good marriage in the future. Her first instinct was to go find Lady Qin, or else rush back in and drive the man away. Struggling to her feet, she suddenly had a second thought and paused. Wait. If Lin Dongling has gotten herself entangled with that man, then her elite, prestigious marriage will vanish like a bubble in water. That man looks like he comes from some lowly background—he wouldn't even have the face to come to the estate to propose...

With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Lin Dongxiu slowly came to a halt. In the distance up the slope, she caught sight of two young maidservants stepping across the winding bridge and heading straight toward Luoxue Lodge. One wore a soft peach-colored gown while the other was dressed in begonia red, and both were of similar height. As they drew closer, she saw that the one in the peach-colored gown was none other than Xianglan, and her companion was Tinglan. As it turned out, Lianxin had returned to look after the quarters, and Tinglan had coaxed and cajoled Xianglan into taking a stroll through the garden. "The Eldest Young Master has gone out to see off the bride and isn't in the estate," Tinglan had urged. "All the masters are up front listening to the opera and drinking wine, the maids are all gathered together playing, and the pages have scattered everywhere, leaving the garden wonderfully quiet. You never step out of your room anyway, so you really ought to go out and clear your mind. The two of us can just wander around the secluded corners. You have no idea how gorgeous the autumn scenery is right now—let's go take a look at the flowers."

Between this and that, Xianglan was finally persuaded. She changed her clothes and, linking arms with Tinglan, strolled out into the garden. Before they knew it, they had wandered over to Luoxue Lodge. The sight of the place reminded Xianglan of when she had first entered the manor and served here as a maid, stirring up a complex swirl of emotions in her chest. She walked slowly up to the entrance, touched the brass fish-shaped padlock hanging on the door, and asked Tinglan, "What happened to Granny Liu who used to watch over Luoxue Lodge? Is she still here?"

Tinglan replied, "Granny Liu grew too old, so her son took her back home to retire. This building was left empty and turned into a plant nursery, with potted plants lining the inside and out. All the flowers in our courtyard are moved over from here." She glanced up at Xianglan's hair and smiled, "On such a joyous day like this, how can the two of us not wear a flower in our hair? Since we've happened to walk all the way here, why not clip a blossom and pin it to your temples? It would look far more striking than any gold or silver phoenix hairpin."

Xianglan said, "The doors are all locked up, so how are we supposed to get in? If you want to wear a flower so badly, we might as well just snip one from the open garden."

Tinglan said, "What is there to worry about? I have the key." With that, she unhooked a cluster of brass keys from her waistband and smiled, "The old woman in charge of the flowers here is my eldest paternal aunt. Fearing she might grow forgetful in her old age and misplace things, she had an extra key made and gave it to me for emergencies." She winked playfully at Xianglan and proceeded to unlock the door.

The commotion outside startled the pair of Mandarin ducks inside like a bolt from the blue. Lin Dongxiu—reasons of her own aside—no, Lin Dongling shuddered violently, shoved Du Bin upright in a panic, clutched the edges of her collar, and cried out in utter helplessness, "What do we do? Someone's coming, what do we do?!"

A wave of secret panic surged through Du Bin. His eyes darted rapidly around the room, and he said to Lin Dongling, "When someone comes in later, just tell them you were tired and looking for a quiet place to take a short nap." With that, he stepped up onto the armrest of the arhat bed, leaped upward, hooked his hands over the ceiling beam, and leveraged his core strength to vault astride the crossbeam, pressing himself flat into the shadowy corner against the wall.

Flustered and frantic, Lin Dongling scrambled to straighten her clothing just as Tinglan called out from the doorway, "There's a pot of azaleas blooming in the inner room—they're still in flower even in this month, and they are simply stunning. Come in and take a look." Panic gripped Lin Dongling even tighter; there was no longer any time to smooth her disheveled hair, so she immediately threw herself facedown onto the headrest and pretended to be fast asleep.

Pushing aside the door curtain, Xianglan and Tinglan stepped into the inner chamber, only to be startled by the sight of Lin Dongling sprawled across the bed with her eyes closed. Exchanging bewildered glances, Tinglan hurried forward and nudged her, saying, "Third Young Lady, Third Young Lady."

Putting on a groggy, sleep-addled air, Lin Dongling rubbed her eyes and asked, "What is it?"

Tinglan said, "Third Young Lady, the banquets have already started out front. Why are you sleeping here? When we came by just now, we even saw Shanhua searching all over the garden for you."

Sitting up, Lin Dongling replied, "I came here to look at the flowers, but I got tired and lay down here for a moment, and I must have drifted off to sleep without realizing it." With that, she sprang to her feet and hurried toward the exit.

Tinglan pressed her palms together in a gesture of relief and murmured a silent prayer, "My dear young miss, how could you fall asleep here without even pulling a cover over yourself? It would have been a disaster if you had caught a chill and fallen ill."

Spotting a half-arm garment embroidered with a butterfly and peony motif lying abandoned on the arhat bed, Xianglan picked it up and asked, "Third Young Lady, is this your clothing?"

Turning back to look, a guilty conscience immediately flushed Lin Dongling's face an even deeper red. She snatched the garment out of Xianglan's hands with a violent grab and snapped, "Little wretch, who gave you permission to touch my things!" With that, she flung the curtain aside and stormed out, shouting as she went, "Tinglan, come help me do my hair!"

Tinglan gave Xianglan's hand a reassuring squeeze and whispered, "The Third Young Lady simply has that kind of temper; don't take it to heart."

Xianglan smiled and nodded.

As Tinglan hurried out after her, Xianglan let out a long, heavy breath. Lin Dongling's clothes had been in complete disarray, and when she was standing close by earlier, Xianglan had caught sight of a faint reddish mark on Lin Dongling's neck—the exact same sort of mark that Lin Jinlou left on her every time he... Xianglan hurriedly shook her head, violently casting aside that shameful, vexing thought. Why on earth would Lin Dongling wander off all by herself to Luoxue Lodge? And why would she be lying there half-undressed and asleep? A sudden thought flashed through her mind of when she had previously caught Lin Dongling in the company of a handsome young man around the time of the New Year. A cold shiver ran down her spine, and she looked anxiously around the room, though she could not spot anything obviously amiss.

Up on the crossbeam, Du Bin held his breath and concentrated every ounce of his focus, fixing his gaze squarely on Xianglan. The young woman possessed raven-black hair, a slender waist, skin as white and smooth as carved jade, bright autumn-water eyes, and pearly white teeth. She radiated a stunning, breathtaking beauty, possessing an ineffable gentleness and an incomparable, striking elegance. A wave of silent praise swelled in Du Bin's chest; in all his days of womanizing, he had never laid eyes on anyone who could compare to her. Even though Lin Dongling was a beauty in her own right, standing next to this girl made her instantly pale into insignificance. He could not tear his eyes away, looking at her again and again.

While Xianglan stood there hesitating, Lin Dongling's voice barked from outside, "Xianglan, what on earth are you still doing in there? Are you trying to steal something?"

Xianglan thought to herself, If the Third Young Lady really was just resting here, then no harm was done. But if she truly concealed a man inside this room, she is simply marching herself straight to her own doom. Unfortunately, she would never listen to a word from me, and if I tried telling anyone else, they might not believe me either. If she turned around and accused me of slandering her reputation, I wouldn't be able to clear my name even with a hundred mouths. Sighing softly, she lifted the curtain and stepped outside.

Up on the beam, Du Bin let out a long, silent sigh of relief, thinking to himself, So that girl they called 'Xianglan' is the one Lin Jinlou has recently taken as his favorite! She truly is an absolute stunner—no wonder my sister is no match for her. That brat Lin Jinlou certainly has a knack for good fortune; I wonder what kind of exquisite favors this enchanting creature offers in bed? If I could ever take her into my quarters and dally with her for just a single lifetime of pleasure, I would die a satisfied man. As these wild fantasies raced through his mind, his heart fluttered with reckless agitation. Suddenly, a loud clang rang out as the outer doors were slammed shut, followed immediately by the sound of a heavy padlock sliding into place.