Against the Current - Chapter 180

Chapter 180 - Talisman (Part 1)

Huamei rubbed her temples, taking several deep, grounding breaths as she forced her resentment, grievance, and unwillingness down beneath her tongue. She had struggled so hard to reach this position, becoming half-mistress of the Lin household with endless wealth and luxury awaiting her in the future. Now, all she needed was to bear an heir to truly anchor her footing in the Lin family; and if her older brother's official career progressed smoothly, even if Lin Jinlou were to take a high-born noble bride later on, she would still dare to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her. Yet Chen Xianglan had arrived and immediately monopolized his favor—how could there possibly be any room left for her to stand as the days went by? She had no desire to spend her entire life as a cautious, compromising secondary wife; she wanted to hold her head proudly upright, make the women of the Lin household's inner quarters think twice before looking down on her, and rightfully claim her place as a true mistress!

After deep rumination, Huamei instructed Xique to bring pen, ink, paper, and an inkstone, and penned a letter. Tucking it inside an envelope, she pulled out a padded leg-guard embroidered with plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums from her chest, wrapped the letter securely within the padding, and summoned a trusted older bondservant. "First thing tomorrow morning, take this to my family home and deliver it directly into my brother's hands. The weather is growing cold, and since he has to ride horses, his knees always ache. This is a pair I've recently sewn for him."

The bondservant accepted the order and withdrew. Huamei completely lost all desire to hunt for her ring. She sat in silence for a while longer, poured a bowl of warm water, swallowed a calming pill to settle her mind and spirit, changed her clothes, removed the remnants of her makeup, and lay down to sleep—a matter best left without further detail.

Now, the first day of the tenth lunar month was the traditional day for sending winter garments to the departed. Lady Qin had long since given orders to prepare incense, wax candles, sacrificial offerings, and spirit money, and had even sent a pageboy to a funerary paper goods shop to buy colorful wax-infused paper, instructing the maidservants to cut out stacks of paper garments. She had the ancestral hall cleaned out in advance, prepared dried and fresh fruits, various pastries, fresh flowers, and vegetarian dishes, and lit the everlasting lamps. Grand Master Lin personally presided over the ceremony, opening the ancestral hall and leading the family in four full bows according to their seniority, creating an atmosphere of utmost solemnity. Once the rites concluded, Lin Jinting took the spirit money and paper garments outside with a few pageboys to burn them, while the members of the various households dispersed. The ancestral hall was left to the servants to clean up, which need not be dwelt upon.

Mother Wu had a moment of leisure. Coincidentally, Lady Qin needed a goose-down silk cloak delivered to Lin Jinlou, so Mother Wu accepted the task, took the garment, and headed toward Zhichun Lodge. Upon entering the room, she was surprised to see that Xianglan had changed into plain white mourning attire and was in the middle of washing her hands and wiping her face, her eyes red and swollen—clearly indicating she had just finished mourning.

As it happened, every year around this season, Xianglan would burn some spirit money for her family from her past life. Catching Mother Wu witnessing this, she forced a smile and explained, "When I was raised in a monastery during my childhood, a venerable, high-virtuous monk treated me like his own child, but he passed away early. Since I never had the chance to fulfill my filial duties, I can only offer a memorial rite for him now. I already reported this matter to the Master, and he gave his consent, allowing me to perform the rites in the back courtyard."

Mother Wu hastily pressed her palms together in a Buddhist salute. "Amitabha, it is rare to find such filial piety in someone." She then sat down in the room to chat with Xianglan for a while. As the evening grew deeper, estimating that the ancestral rites were drawing to a close, Mother Wu rose to take her leave, heading out through the back courtyard gate.

She spotted Xique standing near the rockery, holding a lantern as she stamped her feet and called out with a smile, "Mother Wu, why have you come here? Since you've come, how can you leave without stopping by our mistress's rooms for a spell? We certainly won't let you off that easily."

Mother Wu thought to herself, I detest that troublemaker of a mistress you serve; she already poisoned the disposition of Mistress Lan when she was doing well, so why would I ever visit your quarters? On the surface, however, she smiled and said, "The Madam sent me to deliver something, and I still have duties over on the other side. I can only make a quick delivery and head right back. Next time I come to see your Mistress Mei, you'll have to brew me a bowl of fine tea to make up for it." As she walked over, she asked, "What are you doing out here?"

Xique replied, "Our mistress lost a gold ring and hasn't been able to find it after searching the room for days. The pearl on that ring was specially given to her by the Master. Though she doesn't say it aloud, I can see how deeply distressed she is over it, so I slipped out behind her back to have a look around. If I find it, I'll take it back to bring a smile to her face; and if I don't, it will at least spare her the disappointment and extra heartache."

Mother Wu remarked, "My child, you are a good girl, and it is rare to see you look out for your mistress so thoughtfully." With that, she turned to head out.

At that exact moment, the lantern in Xique's hand suddenly slipped, crashing down right beside Mother Wu's feet. Xique flusteredly apologized, "Oh dear, oh dear, my hand slipped! I hope I didn't hit you, Mother?" As she spoke, she hurried over.

Mother Wu bent down to retrieve the lantern, saying, "It's nothing, luckily this is a brass lotus lamp and isn't afraid of a fall. If it had been an ordinary one..." Before she finished speaking, she noticed a small parcel wrapped in white cloth on the ground. It was triangular in shape and roughly the size of an infant's palm. When Mother Wu picked it up and gave it a squeeze, it felt slightly stiff, resembling folded paper. As an elderly woman who had seen much of the world, she knew at a glance that this item was a talisman, and her heart gave a sharp jolt. She thought, Talismans for praying for sons, wealth, or peace are always wrapped in red cloth. A talisman wrapped in white cloth is clearly not something benevolent. Why would such a thing exist in Zhichun Lodge? Without missing a beat, she gripped it tightly inside her palm.

Xique squeezed closer, asking, "What did you pick up, Mother? Let me have a look."

Mother Wu gave her a gentle shove. "You're a young girl, sticking your nose into everything. Hurry back inside before your mistress starts asking for you." With that, she hurried away.

Meanwhile, Lady Qin had been busy all day long. Supported lightly by Hongjian, she walked over to sit down in the small side-parlor of the ancestral hall, while Lilan brought her a cup of hot tea. Lady Qin took a sip and asked, "Have all the courtyards been locked up? Have the night-patrolling bondservants gone out? Have the pageboys guarding the secondary gates and neighboring gardens been properly supervised?"

Hongjian replied, "The steward wives will be arriving shortly; I can ask them then. You've not been feeling quite yourself these past few days, Madam—why must you wear yourself out over these trivial things?"

Lady Qin sighed. "I didn't want to bother, but didn't an incident happen in the secondary household yesterday? Last night, a nocturnal thief somehow sneaked into the Third Young Lady's courtyard, terrifying a bondservant and a young maid into fainting. During the inventory afterwards, thankfully nothing was missing except for a case of jewelry belonging to the Third Young Lady. Though they interrogated and disciplined the staff, they couldn't uncover who was sheltering thieves and leading them astray, though they did catch a few servants gambling and drinking wine. The Second Master was furious and even borrowed several security guards from Brother Lou today, so keeping the gates tightly secured is an absolute must."

Hongjian acknowledged the order with a prompt nod. Lady Qin then inquired about the earlier arrangements for tidying up the ancestral hall. Just as she was speaking, she noticed someone peering sneakily around the doorway and asked, "Who's that at the door, skulking about?"

A maid lifted the door curtain, revealing Mother Wu stepping inside with a pale expression. "Madam," she reported, "this old servant has just returned from Zhichun Lodge."

Lady Qin smiled. "At this hour of the night, instead of resting, what brings you hurrying over here?"

Mother Wu said, "I have a serious matter to report to the Madam." As she spoke, her eyes swept cautiously toward the surrounding attendants.

Noticing her tense demeanor, Lady Qin felt a secret pang of alarm. She dismissed the surrounding staff with a wave of her hand and instructed Mother Wu, "Speak. What is it?"

Mother Wu dropped heavily to her knees, her eyes brimming with tears as she said, "This old servant... this old servant just picked up a fatal, damning thing over at Zhichun Lodge... Because this matter is of the utmost gravity, I beg the Madam to render judgment..." With that, she pulled an object from her sleeve and held it up high.