Against the Current - Chapter 17

Chapter 17 - Tinglan

Nowadays, Cao Lihuan's days were far from easy. Previously, when Zhao Yuechan managed the household affairs, she still maintained a shred of courtesy toward Cao Lihuan, and the maidservants and footwomen treated her with a measure of respect. Ever since Madam Qin took over the household and seized the reins of power, Cao Lihuan's food, clothing, and daily provisions fell far short of what they used to be. Furthermore, being naturally stingy and unwilling to spend money on tips and bribes, the servants grew increasingly perfunctory and careless in their service toward Luowu Lodge.

Seeing that the meals were becoming increasingly subpar and that her daily pastries were no longer being delivered as scheduled, Cao Lihuan flew into a rage and personally led Huier to the kitchens to raise a ruckus. Mother Wang, who ran the kitchens, leaned lazily against the doorframe, picking her teeth with a toothpick as she drawled, "Times are hard this year, and even the Old Matriarch has had three dishes cut from her table. You get fish and meat at every single meal, Miss—what more could you possibly be dissatisfied with? If you want to eat something fine, spend your own silver to buy it; the kitchen stoves are always at your disposal. Just the other day, the Eldest Young Madam wanted to eat bleeding-toad mushroom soup, and she even had to put it on the First Branch's tab when she sent someone outside to buy the mushrooms. If you have any complaints, Miss, go take it up with the Madam; these are her direct orders." With that, she dropped the curtain with a snap and retreated back into the room.

In a fit of fury, Cao Lihuan went straight to Madam Qin to air her grievances, lodging a severe complaint against Mother Wang. With a stern expression, Madam Qin replied, "There are servants like that in the house? I shall have to thoroughly establish some proper discipline later. However, times are tough this year, and even the imperial consorts within the palace have tightened their purse strings. Surely none of us in this estate ought to consider ourselves more precious than the Empress Dowager and the imperial consorts, should we? Therefore, the standard allowances throughout the household have all been curtailed. Even young Miss Qi wanted to eat an extra bowl of white fungus soup, and she nagged me for half the day before finally pouting and chipping in her own silver to pay for a bowl to be made." Her words carried a clear underlying message: if you want to continue living in the lap of luxury at the Lin family's expense—keep dreaming! If your stomach craves something special, chip in your own silver to have it made. After saying a few short sentences, Madam Qin calmly raised her teacup to see her out, and afterwards dispatched her personal maid, Lulan, to deliver a reward of money to Mother Wang, praising her for handling the matter so well.

Upon returning, Cao Lihuan naturally flew into another towering rage. Xianglan slipped away outside, and since Cao Lihuan couldn't bear to strike Huier and found it unseemly to scold Hairui, she grabbed a feather duster and chased the dog around, beating it fiercely a few times. Still failing to vent her frustration, she shattered a teacup to pieces.

With nowhere else to go, Xianglan wandered over toward Zhichun Pavilion. As luck would have it, Xiaojuan was tending to the stove in the pantry. Seeing Xianglan arrive, she hurriedly invited her to sit down on a small wooden stool, then darted off like a wisp of smoke to fetch two pieces of green bean cake for Xianglan to eat, pouring her tea into her own cup.

Xianglan smiled and said, "Don't go to so much trouble. I can't stay long before I have to head back. That little mistress of mine is far from easy to serve, and I don't dare loiter outside for too long."

Xiaojuan shoved the cup into Xianglan's hands and said, "Indeed. Everyone in the household says the Huan Lady is difficult, small-minded, fond of putting on airs, and utterly lacking in the graceful bearing of a great aristocratic family. In any case, you'll soon have your chance to leave; the moment she marries, you can put as much distance between her and yourself as possible. The First Branch's Eldest Young Miss, Second Young Miss, and Fourth Young Miss are all much easier to serve than her." After fanning the stove a couple of times, she lowered her voice and added, "My days are infinitely better now. The moment the Eldest Madam returned, the entire First Branch felt as though heaven and earth had been turned upside down. Within a few days, she severely punished Yinliu—who was always the worst for beating and scolding young maids—and also reprimanded the Eldest Young Madam several times. Now, things are truly peaceful and quiet in those quarters."

Looking at Xiaojuan's round face and smiling, crescent-shaped eyes, Xianglan smiled as well. Ever since entering the Lin estate, Xiaojuan was the girl harboring the least calculation, and the very first friend she had made in the mansion. Whenever they were together, she felt her entire heart unwind and ease. Originally, she had intended to fish for some news, but right then that thought faded away entirely, and she felt not the slightest desire to dwell on the exasperating troubles of Luowu Lodge. Instead, she chatted quietly with Xiaojuan, talking about their parents and families back home, as well as various trivial daily matters.

At that moment, a tall, slender girl walked in. The moment Xiaojuan caught sight of her, she smiled and said, "I was just thinking of going to fetch you, and here you are. This is Xianglan, the one I mentioned to you before. The very day she entered the estate, I ran into her and felt an immediate bond—we had endless things to talk about." Then, turning to Xianglan, she introduced, "Her name is Tinglan. Don't let her age fool you; though she is only a year or two older than us, she is already a second-rank maidservant. Thanks to her constantly shielding and looking out for me, otherwise I'd be in all sorts of trouble." With that, she stuck out her tongue playfully.

Xianglan smiled and greeted her, "Sister Tinglan." She observed that Tinglan was dressed in a semi-worn indigo-blue satin jacket with white piped trim, over which she wore a vest, paired with a dark-cyan skirt. Her face was long and oval-shaped, her eyebrows so faint they were practically invisible, having been artfully drawn quite long with an eyebrow pencil. She possessed a pair of almond-shaped eyes and a mouth slightly on the larger side; when she smiled, a row of gleaming white teeth was revealed. While not strikingly beautiful, her gentle speech and manner instantly won people over and inspired natural fondness.

Tinglan waved her hands with a smile. "What 'sister' is this? It makes me sound unnecessarily old. Xiaojuan calls me Tinglan, so you needn't stand on ceremony either." Catching sight of the green bean cake in Xianglan's hand, she playfully scolded Xiaojuan, "This green bean cake is from yesterday; it's already stale. When I passed through our small kitchen just now, I saw them steaming batches of hibiscus pastry, so I'll go fetch a couple of fresh ones."

Xiaojuan hurriedly grabbed Tinglan's sleeve. "Have you lost your mind? If Yingshang and the others catch you, they'll tear you to shreds!"

Tinglan blinked with a mischievous smile. "Yingshang doesn't rule the small kitchen all by herself anymore. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." With that, she slipped outside. Before long, she returned, cradling several steaming-hot hibiscus pastries in a handkerchief while holding a calendula-colored pottery pot in her other hand. Bustling about, she urged, "Quickly, bring your cups! This is honey tea inside. It was brewed for the Madam this morning, but she didn't finish it and handed the rest to Sister Hongjian. Hongjian complained it was too sweet and left it sitting in the small kitchen with no one touching it. I quietly asked around and brought it out. We can dilute it with some hot water and enjoy it with the pastries."

Xiaojuan hastily picked up the copper kettle to pour hot water, and the three of them gathered closely together, eating pastries and sipping tea. Xianglan made a conscious effort to ingratiate herself, Tinglan proved to be easygoing and agreeable, and with Xiaojuan chattering away animatedly, the trio laughed and chatted merrily, having a thoroughly delightful time. Tinglan was a family-born servant who had entered the estate at a very young age, initially assigned to Zhichun Pavilion to perform miscellaneous chores. As she grew older, Zhao Yuechan had dismissed all the maids who looked too seductive and alluring, but seeing that Tinglan was not overwhelmingly beautiful yet remained honest, clever, and utterly diligent in every task assigned to her, she kept her on. Over the next few years, she steadily rose to become a second-rank maid.

After finishing a piece of pastry and taking a sip of the warm, comforting honey tea, Xianglan inquired, "Come to think of it, our young miss truly went to cause trouble for the Madam today, complaining that the food wasn't as good as before, that her rations had been reduced, and that pastries were no longer delivered on schedule—and even when they were, there were only four or five pieces, which wasn't nearly enough to eat. I wonder if the other young masters and young ladies have had their rations reduced as well?"

With a mouthful of pastry, Xiaojuan mumbled vaguely, "Your young miss is simply the one who makes the most fuss out of everyone. She had a fight with Liubei right outside Shoushi Hall, and the entire estate knows about it! Liubei even took ten board blows because of her—what terrible luck."

Tinglan was evidently more seasoned and worldly-wise than Xiaojuan. Seeming to grasp why Xianglan was asking these questions, she smiled as she looked at her and said, "The meal rations have indeed all been reduced, but... the monthly allowance of silver has actually increased. Only, that extra silver is being directly channeled to subsidize the food expenses." Having said that, she closed her mouth and smoothly shifted the topic to discuss the embroidery pattern on Xiaojuan's tunic.

Xianglan sat in momentary astonishment, her eyes widening in realization. Oh, my goodness! Compared to the Madam, this cousin of theirs was simply too shallow in her plotting! The Madam had cut down the basic food and supply rations, but raised the monthly allowances of the true masters, directly pumping that extra silver straight into the meal subsidies—which meant it was merely a change of broth without a change of medicine. The masters' food and daily provisions remained exactly as they had been before, but this Lady Huan was placed in a completely different position. She ate and lived for free in the estate, yet the household did not grant her a monthly allowance of silver at all. This move was entirely targeted at Cao Lihuan! Yet this foolish cousin lacked all self-awareness, charging off to throw a tantrum at the Madam without even figuring out the situation first. Who knew how many people were laughing behind her back right now!

Xianglan sighed with deep emotion internally, calculating that in a few months Cao Lihuan would be marrying out. Since she herself was a maid of the Lin family, she certainly wouldn't be sent along as a dowry maid, and would naturally have to be reassigned to serve a different master. With that in mind, she exchanged a few words with Tinglan to sound her out about the temperaments of the various young masters and young ladies in the estate. Tinglan readily shared everything she knew with Xianglan. Before they knew it, the time for two cups of tea had slipped away, and Xianglan stood up to take her leave.

As she was departing, Tinglan grabbed a handful of melon seeds and dried apricots, pressing them into Xianglan's hands with a smile. "Whenever you have free time, come over to Zhichun Pavilion to visit me and Xiaojuan."

Xiaojuan chimed in with a laugh, "Both of your names have the character 'lan' in them—no wonder you two get along like sisters."

Reluctant to part, Xianglan made a promise to stay longer next time before turning back toward Luowu Lodge.