Against the Current - Chapter 173

Chapter 173 - Flying into a Rage

Standing by the window, Xianglan saw that Lin Jinlou had actually picked up the fan Song Ke gave her, and her face instantly turned pale with fright. She had kept that fan tucked away inside her drawer. When she had quietly sorted through her things yesterday, she had lingered in a trance just touching the exquisite jade-green frog fan pendant, suddenly recalling the time back at the Song household when Song Ke was writing by the window. She had carried out a cup of litchi drink from the room, used a silver hairpin to brighten the candlewick, and leaned in to take a look, only to see that Song Ke had inscribed a poem on this fan: "Cherishing spring and cupping dreams, the flowers are already late; loving the slender tunic and low-coiled hair. Fragrant powder and jade balustrades facing the moon's halo, the orchid is secluded and the affection so deep that one cannot help longing."

She had just been about to tease Song Ke for writing such boudoir verse when, looking closer, she realized it was an acrostic poem. Connecting the first character of each of those four lines spelled out: "Cherishing and loving Xianglan." At that moment, her face had flushed red, her heart pounding frantically like a little rabbit caught inside her chest. Her face felt as though it were burning with fire, yet filled with an indescribable sweetness.

Song Ke had turned his face toward her, smiling gently as he said, "Do you think what I wrote is good? You always kept asking me to inscribe a poem on the back of your fan—do you like this one?"

What had she said back then?

Xianglan now found that she couldn't remember clearly. Her throat felt as if it were choked up, and she hadn't even dared to unfold the fan. Like a hot potato, she had shoved it haphazardly beneath a stack of books and fled that room.

Yet today, this fan had suddenly been fished out by Lin Jinlou. Shocked out of her wits, Xianglan hastily pushed open the door and entered, crying out, "That's my fan, yesterday I..."

She saw Lin Jinlou slowly turn around to fix his gaze upon her, his entire face sheathed in a shroud of freezing frost, his eyes dark, cold, and tyrannical.

A shudder ran through Xianglan's heart. She lunged forward to grab Lin Jinlou's arm, pleading, "I beg you, give that fan back to me."

Lin Jinlou violently brushed her off. Watching her tumble forward onto the writing desk, he weighed the fan in his hand and let out a cold laugh, "'Cherishing and loving Xianglan'—what a truly touching picture of mutual affection between a young lord and his lady. It's just a pity that such a fine pair of little mandarin ducks back then have come to look like this now. I hear Song Ke's wife is already with child, and the two of them are so deeply devoted that Song Ke hasn't even taken a single concubine or maid. It truly wastes all your deep, infatuated devotion, casting it to flow in vain down the stream." As he spoke, he used both hands to snap the fan in two, then ground it to pieces right in his palm.

Hearing Lin Jinlou's words and watching the fan smashed completely out of shape, Xianglan felt a sense of utter despair. She harbored no extravagant illusions regarding Song Ke anymore, yet she couldn't help yearning for him all the same. That period of time with him was a treasured memory locked deep within her heart. In the lonely and hopeless days of the Lin household, she would pull it out to reminisce in secret, drumming up courage for herself and telling herself that sooner or later, she would live to see days where someone treated her with such tender care and protection. That fan was the single thing she had brought away from the Song residence, but now Lin Jinlou had destroyed even her last lingering shred of hope. Trembling all over, she lunged forward to grab at the debris of the fan, managing to clutch the jade-green frog pendant tightly in her hand.

Lin Jinlou had never expected Xianglan to snatch the shattered fan ribs right out of his hand, and his fury flared up to even greater heights. When had he ever suffered such utter humiliation? And when had he ever stooped to currying favor with a woman? His face and dignity had been stripped bare by her, and in the end, he wasn't even worth as much as Song Ke's worthless old fan!

Lin Jinlou stepped forward, seized Xianglan firmly by the throat, lifted her up off the ground, and ground out through clenched teeth, "Fine, fine, fine! You ungrateful, unappreciative bitch, you really know how to repay my kindness!"

Like a frail, emaciated cat, Xianglan felt her head spin with dizziness. She struggled feebly for a couple of moments, only to find herself unable to breathe, suffering to an agonizing degree as her consciousness gradually began to slip away. She felt as though she were dying—truth be told, if her breath were cut off completely, death might even be a form of release; but what would become of her father and mother?

At that moment, the young maid Huashan walked in carrying a tray of tea. Seeing Lin Jinlou gripping Xianglan by the neck, she let out a piercing scream. The tray slipped from her hands, crashing to the floor, and the teacups shattered into countless jagged pieces with a loud clatter. Hearing the commotion, Xue shi came running in from outside. One glance into the room scared her half out of her wits. Shouting, "First Master, please spare her life!" she rushed forward, dropped to her knees at Lin Jinlou's feet, clutched the hem of his robe, and wept, "I beg the First Master to show mercy! Spare Sister Lan!" As she spoke, she banged her head against the floor in heavy, rhythmic prostrations.

Xianglan felt the grip on her neck suddenly slacken, and her entire body went limp, collapsing heavily onto the floor and knocking a chair askew.

Xue shi flung herself over Xianglan's body, crying out, "Sister Lan! Sister Lan, how are you?!"

Xianglan coughed convulsively, golden stars dancing wildly before her eyes. She was panting so hard she couldn't speak, her throat burning with a searing, raw pain.

With an icy, chilling glare, Lin Jinlou looked down at her for a moment before slowly turning to walk away, saying with cruel detachment, "The master has treated you far too well, making you forget your own station entirely. Today I'll make sure you learn your lesson. If there's a repeat performance of this tomorrow, don't blame the master for genuinely snuffing out your life."

While Xue shi still knelt embracing Xianglan and weeping in low sobs, Chen Wanquan had already rushed over from the main hall upon hearing the din. Hovering at the window with his head craned and shoulders hunched, he wrung his hands, not daring to step inside, sweating profusely from anxiety.

Lin Jinlou strode out of the room. Chen Wanquan shrank his head and pressed himself flat against the wall, wishing he could vanish entirely. Instead, Lin Jinlou halted his steps and said coldly to Chen Wanquan, "Pack her things and send her back to the Lin residence."

With that, he strode out into the courtyard and bellowed, "Where are the horses?! Where are the horses?! You useless, good-for-nothing beasts, didn't you see the master was leaving? Why haven't you led the horses over yet!" Jixiang scurried off like a wisp of smoke to fetch the mounts. Lin Jinlou vaulted into the saddle, yanked hard on the reins, and galloped off furiously into the distance, with Jixiang and Shuangxi scrambling hurriedly to follow.

Xue shi, Chunling, and the others carried Xianglan onto the bed. Parting Xianglan's hair, Xue shi saw towering finger marks already swelling up darkly across her neck, bruised in shades of blue and purple. "What on earth is the meaning of this? Just a moment ago everything was fine..." she choked out, tears instantly welling up.

Xianglan squeezed Xue shi's hand and gave a faint shake of her head. Chen Wanquan also crowded close to take a look, then bolted right back outside to order Huacai to summon a physician. With a bitter, wretched expression on his face that made it seem as though he were on the verge of tears, he could neither sit nor stand still, chanting over and over, "Whatever shall we do! Whatever shall we do!"

Chunling had already instructed Huashan to bring in a basin of cold water. Wringing out a cold towel, she applied it to Xianglan's injury. Tears shimmering in her own eyes, she whispered, "Didn't the mistress figure things out a while ago and start going along with the First Master in everything? Weren't you living a few days of peace because of it? What on earth possessed you to pull this now? When the First Master gets angry, wouldn't a few soothing words make everything fine again?"

Wiping away her tears, Xue shi chimed in, "If he really loses his temper and takes your life, how do you expect your mother to go on living..."

Unable to speak, Xianglan simply squeezed Xue shi's hand once more and shook her head.

A moment later, Chunling brought over a bowl of warm water and helped Xianglan drink a couple of tiny sips. Her throat hurt so intensely that she couldn't bear to swallow, yet fearing that Xue shi and the others would worry, she forced it down, though she nearly retched it right back up. After she had lain quietly for a short while, the physician arrived. Chunling laid a handkerchief over Xianglan's face as the physician murmured an apology ("Pardon the intrusion"), stepped forward to examine her injuries, diagnosed it as purely external trauma, and wrote out a prescription before departing. Old Woman Liu hurriedly took the prescription to fill it at the apothecary, and before long, Huashan was using a clay pot to brew the medicine out in the courtyard, fanning the flames with a cattail leaf.

An absolute silence hung over the entire Chen household. With soothing ointment applied to the bruises on her neck, Xianglan lay quietly on the bed, slowly unfurling her palm to reveal the jade-green frog talisman resting right in the middle of it. She didn't know what else Lin Jinlou might do, but since he hadn't managed to choke the life out of her right there in the room, she figured he wouldn't actually claim her life. Given how deeply infuriated Lin Jinlou had been this time, the whole affair had clearly disgusted him, and his interest in her would likely cool down significantly in the future. Now that her parents were aware of her wretched predicament, scheming to find a way to leave the Lin household altogether would become much easier. She turned the plan she had been concocting over these past few days over and over in her mind until her brain ached and she drifted into a heavy, semi-conscious slumber.

Suddenly, she dreamed that Xiao Hang walked in and began speaking to her of their bonds as husband and wife in their past life. Then Xiao Hang transformed into Song Ke, telling her, "In this lifetime I have already taken a wife and had children. No matter how deep our affection was between us, forget it all." In a daze, she replied, "Very well, I've forgotten it all—it was something meant to be forgotten anyway." Yet her throat hurt with such unbearable agony that not a single word would pass her lips. Faintly, she heard the sound of weeping drifting to her ears, the voices of Xue shi and Chunling echoing as if from far away:

"...Good child, tell me the honest truth. When you were at the Lin residence, did the First Master treat our Sister Lan like this as well?"

"Oh, what are you saying, Madam? How could that possibly be? The First Master simply has this kind of temper. Today they must have crossed words over a couple of things, which is why he flew into a rage. Normally, he treats the mistress extremely well; please don't overthink this."

"Sigh, how can I not overthink it... Today's ordeal scared half my life right out of me... Can we speak to the First Master and let me enter the household as well? Even sweeping floors or washing dishes would do—just following by Sister Lan's side and being able to keep an eye on her would be enough..."

"What kind of talk is that, Madam? You are an elder, how could you possibly be made to do such work..."

Xue shi dissolved into a continuous string of heavy sighs and lamentations.

Struggling to sit up, Xianglan saw Xue shi and Chunling step into the room the moment they heard the movement. Xianglan signaled with a glance, and Chunling respectfully withdrew. With a distressed and sorrowful expression, Xue shi tearfully asked, "How on earth did things ever come to such a pass?"

Xianglan reached out to take Xue shi's hand, feeling how icy cold her palms were. Because her throat hurt too much to speak aloud, she used her breath to whisper softly, "It won't happen again in the future."

Xue shi's tears fell anew as she cursed in bitter anguish, "It's all that catastrophic trouble stirred up by the Xia family! Why should you be subjected to such torment, serving a brute like that bandit? If you had lost your life, how do you expect your mother to survive!"

Just as she was speaking, Chen Wanquan stepped back into the room holding a bowl of medicine. "Daughter," he said, "the medicine is ready, drink it while it's hot." He gently nudged Xue shi aside, scooped up a spoonful of the dark broth with trembling hands, and carefully fed it to Xianglan. The moment the medicine slid down, Xianglan felt a stabbing agony in her throat and had to swallow it down extremely gradually. As the medicinal liquid passed through, however, a cool, soothing sensation spread through her throat. After resting quietly for a good while, she managed to rasp out in a low, hoarse voice, "I'm fine, Mother, don't let your imagination run wild. He was never like this when we were at the Lin residence..." She then added, "Remember what I said: sooner or later, I will leave the Lin household. After encountering an incident like today's, I understand it all clearly now. In the future, I will never let myself be taken advantage of again." She then quietly whispered a few further instructions into Xue shi's ear.