Against the Current - Chapter 207
Chapter 207 - Disaster (Part 2)
Upon reaching the guest parlor, a novice monk of six or seven years of age stepped forward to greet them, pressing his palms together in a salute: "Female benefactor, the vegetarian meal is not yet ready. Please return a little later." Xianglan returned the bow with palms pressed together, stepped back, and took a stroll around the courtyard, looking about. Several red plum trees in the courtyard were in full bloom, complemented by towering pines and verdant cypresses; even though winter had arrived, the scenery appeared exceptionally lush and vibrant. Thinking the plum blossoms were lovely, Xianglan felt the urge to snap a branch to place in a vase as an offering to the Buddha. She walked over to the plum tree and reached out to pluck the blossoms on top, when she suddenly felt as though someone was watching her. A chill ran down her spine, and she whipped around, only to find the surroundings entirely deserted, save for a few sparrows that fluttered their wings and flew up into the sky.
Dubin was hiding at the doorway, secretly peering out through the crack of the door again. He saw a dainty beauty standing prettily beneath the plum tree, draped in a bright red velvet cloak. Her silhouette alone was graceful and winding, and as she turned her head, revealing a face as flawless as white jade, her glowing complexion made her look all the more breathtaking. Dubin's fingertips tingled with desire, and he muttered to himself, "Having not seen her for days, she's actually even more alluring than before. No wonder a romantic fellow like Lin Jinlou was wrapped around this little girl's finger until his legs went soft. Tomorrow, I'll snatch her up along with the others and ask the Marquis to bestow her upon me. If not, I should at least get to taste her flavor myself."
Meanwhile, Madam Qin and Madam Wang attended to Old Madam Lin before returning to their respective rooms, where they partook of their vegetarian meals and settled in. By the afternoon, Old Madam Lin, Madam Wang, Lin Dongling, and the others went to the high pavilion in the back to listen to operas and stroll around the grounds, while Madam Qin continued to pay homage to the Buddha. By evening, having spent her energy during the day and caught a bit of the mountain wind, Old Madam Lin felt unwell. The doctor prescribed a draft of medicine, and only after drinking it did she sleep peacefully. Fearing something might go wrong, Madam Qin saw the next day that Old Madam Lin had regained some strength, and promptly dispatched half the retinue to escort Old Madam Lin home, an affair that need not be dwelt upon.
For a time, all was quiet. When evening arrived the following day, everyone was about to turn in for the night. Xianglan and Hongjian shared the outer room of the bedchamber belonging to Madam Qin and Lin Dongling. Hongjian served her mistress, blew out the lamps, and went to sleep on her own. Xianglan, however, could not sleep; she draped a garment over her shoulders and sat up, drawing out a bundle decorated with scattered peony blossoms and holding it against her chest in a daze. This was something she had carefully stitched stitch by stitch over the past few months. To others, she claimed she was making needlework to celebrate Abbots Dingyi's longevity, but in truth, she had cut it to fit her own measurements. Abbots Dingyi had now gone to a temple in Yangzhou to serve as the grand abbess. Xianglan had originally planned to sneak away from the Lin household, first heading to the nearby Jingyue Nunnery to find her senior martial sisters, and then traveling together to Yangzhou to depend upon her master. After a few years, once the matter blew over, she would send for her parents. Who would have guessed that Lin Jinlou would pierce straight to the heart of her intentions, using the lives of her parents as leverage to abruptly snap the thread of her plans? Xianglan sighed; if she could not leave at a moment's notice, she might as well donate these garments as offerings to the temple monks, which could still count as accumulating merit and doing good deeds.
Suddenly, she heard light, soft footsteps. Seeing Lin Dongling emerge from the inner room, Xianglan hurriedly made to stand up and light a lamp. Lin Dongling waved a hand, saying softly, "No need. I couldn't sleep, and hearing movement outside, I came out to find someone to talk to." With that, she sat down beside Xianglan.
As it turned out, Lin Dongling was also tossing and turning, unable to find rest. Since childhood, she had envied Lin Dongqi and Lin Dongling for being born of the mistress's own womb, and possessing a competitive nature of her own, she found it difficult to stand out among her sisters. While someone like Lin Dongqi, who knew how to preserve a veneer of public propriety, was tolerable enough, Lin Dongling purposely or inadvertently kept her suppressed, her sharp words frequently stirring up petty grievances and secretly breeding resentment in Dongling's heart. Now that Lin Dongling was about to commit a disgraceful act, it offered her a chance to vent the pent-up foul air in her chest, and might even hand her an exceptional marriage on a silver platter. Why would she not revel in this windfall where the fisherman catches the oyster? Yet... deep down, her conscience felt uneasy; something felt profoundly wrong, though she could not quite put her finger on it.
Xianglan spoke in a low voice, "I noticed you ate very little this evening, miss. You're probably too hungry to sleep soundly right now; the Mistress still has half a box of pastries, so you might as well have a couple pieces with some tea." With that, she rose, walked over to the table to pour tea, and retrieved the pastry box.
Lin Dongling stood up, let out a deep breath, and slowly paced toward the door, thinking to herself, "That actor said he would make his move tonight. I wonder when he plans to abduct Third Sister and elope."
Carrying the tea over, Xianglan smiled and asked, "What are you looking at?" She peered out through the crack of the door. The third watch had just sounded, and half a moon hung across the firmament, casting a layer of silver frost across the courtyard that shone with a crystalline brilliance. Suddenly, seven or eight figures abruptly popped up atop the opposite side-room's roof, landing lightly and gracefully in the yard, each holding a gleaming, broad saber in their hands. Once in the courtyard, the leader made a hand gesture, and the group headed straight for the eastern side-room. That was precisely the room where Madam Wang and Lin Dongling were lodging.
Xianglan's heart leaped into her throat. She hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth, turned to Lin Dongling, and whispered, "Something is terribly wrong, bandits have broken in! Miss, make no noise, hurry and put on your clothes." While saying this, she rushed over to shake Hongjian awake, then strode quickly into the inner chamber to call Madam Qin.
Lin Dongling had originally assumed it was Lin Dongling's paramour coming by night to elope with her, thinking Xianglan was making a fuss over nothing. But when she peeked through the crack in the door and saw a dozen tall, robust men standing in the courtyard, the wits scared clean out of her, she stumbled in panic back to the bedchamber. Seeing that Madam Qin was already up, she cried out tearfully, "Madam! Bandits have really come, and they're all carrying sabers! What should we do? Didn't... didn't the Eldest Brother leave bodyguards and security guards behind..."
Madam Qin instantly fell into a panic as well, scrambling in a flurry to grab a cloak. Just then, a faint rustling sound came from the doorway—someone appeared to be tampering with the door latch. Hongjian's legs had already turned to jelly, and she huddled together with Lin Dongling, trembling uncontrollably.
Xianglan thought to herself, "The guards haven't made a sound. I wonder what has happened." Her hands and feet were ice-cold, her heart pounding as though it would burst out of her throat. Yet, seeing that all the women in the room were flustered, she instead steadied herself, and spoke in a low voice, "Before the bandits realize we've noticed, let's slip out through the back door of the meditation room. There's a gate right in the back courtyard that connects to the monks' quarters, where a few young novice monks live. This morning when Old Madam went home, she took twenty-some guards with her, but there are still over twenty men left in the front courtyard. We'll go call them over to rescue us right away." With that, she turned back, instinctively snatched up the thick cotton monk's robe she had sewn, draped it over herself, closed the door to the meditation room's sleeping quarters, and walked into the back pantry. Sure enough, she found a door there. Slipping the bolt and gently pushing it open, she saw that the outside was dead quiet. She hurriedly helped Madam Qin out. After stumbling forward for only a few steps, they heard a piercing, blood-curdling scream, which vaguely sounded like Zidai's voice, crying out at the top of her lungs, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I'm just a servant girl, the Mistress, young misses, and the Eldest Young Master's concubine are all in the rooms nearby! Every debt has its debtor, please don't take it out on me!"
This cry immediately provoked a chorus of barking dogs, instantly plunging the courtyard into chaos. Immediately afterward, Zidai's voice was cut short. Shutong had been sharing a room with Zidai, so she was likely in grave peril as well. Lin Dongling felt a bone-chilling cold wash over her entire body.
Xianglan's heart sank. With a commotion this loud, the guards and escorts were bound to be alerted, yet the exterior remained dead silent, clearly indicating the intruders had prepared for this beforehand. Gritting her teeth hard, she gripped Madam Qin's arm in a death-grip and lunged forward without looking back. Reaching the back courtyard gate, she saw it had been padlocked. Behind them, the noise grew increasingly loud, and the sounds of doors being kicked and footsteps approaching could already be faintly heard. Tears streamed down Lin Dongling's cheeks, and she looked as though she was about to burst into tears, her legs wobbly and unable to support her weight. Amidst this panic, Xianglan suddenly spotted a towering stack of firewood in the corner of the wall. Filled with sudden joy, she hurried Madam Qin over to climb the stack.
Fortunately, because this was the inner courtyard of a temple, the wall was not very high. The four of them scrambled up the wall together, jumped down with their eyes closed, and landed in a patch of soft mud planted with flowers and grass. Xianglan looked around and said, "Because we came to this temple, the monks were all turned away, and even the abbot went to stay elsewhere. The ones left behind are all novice monks under ten years old, so they're truly not to be depended upon. When I was young, I came to Qixia Temple with my late master, and I vaguely recall that the monks' quarters are right next to the Sutra Depository. That place is extremely secluded; we should go over there and hide."
Ever since the crisis began, Xianglan had become the backbone of these four women. No one raised any objections, and supporting one another, they made their way to the Sutra Depository. Xianglan poked a hole through the paper window, reached her hand inside to unlatch the window hook, and lifted Madam Qin and the others through. When her turn came, Hongjian reached out to pull her in, but Xianglan said, "The Sutra Depository has a second floor; you all go up there and hide. They won't be able to search this place for a while." With that, she moved to close the window.
Madam Qin hastily asked, "My child, what are you going to do?"
Xianglan replied, "They're going to search this place sooner or later, we can't just sit here waiting to die. I'm going to the bell tower to ring the bell. The monks of Qixia Temple sleep nearby; once they hear the bell, they'll know something is amiss in the temple. As soon as they arrive, Madam will be saved."
Madam Qin was stunned and hurriedly stepped forward to grab Xianglan's hand: "But if the bandits hear the bell, they're bound to come capture you! Come inside and hide with us—with such a huge commotion just now, the guards and escorts in the front courtyard should have heard it by now."
Xianglan shook her head: "The guards in the front courtyard are probably finished..." Madam Qin's expression shifted, only to see Xianglan smile at her, lowering her voice as she said, "If something happens to me... I only beg that Madam treats my parents kindly and finds someone to look after them in their old age..." With those words, she closed the window and left.
Madam Qin stood frozen in shock, while Hongjian burst into tears, choking out the words, "Such great benevolence and righteousness, Miss Xianglan..." Covering her mouth and trembling all over, she wept as a complete mess. Then she saw Madam Qin slide down the wall and seat herself on the ground. Hongjian scrambled over to pull her up, weeping in a low voice, "Madam, please take care of your health. Let's head upstairs first, so we don't waste Xianglan's good intentions." She hoisted Madam Qin to her feet and groped their way toward the stairs in the dark.
Madam Qin acted as though she had lost her mind. After a long moment, she let out a sigh and murmured, "Earlier... I treated her wrong..." Before she could finish, tears fell like rain.
Following closely behind, Lin Dongling was already weeping with a completely tear-streaked face, shoving her fist into her mouth so she could make no sound. She never imagined matters would turn out this horrific. It was clearly her third sister who wanted to elope with an actor—how had it drawn in vicious bandits? Had she known it would come to this, she should have told Madam Qin from the very beginning. But now that things had reached this stage, she could not say a single word more; she could only bite her lips raw as the teardrops fell in rapid succession.
A half-moon hung high in the sky, and the cold wind blew with a desolate chill. Xianglan ran at a full sprint toward the bell tower, breathless as she clambered up the stairs to the top. Throwing her arms around the heavy wooden beam, she swung it directly into the massive bronze bell. A frantic, deafening peal—dong, dong, dong—rang out, striking a blow against everyone's eardrums. Dubin's expression changed dramatically, and he bellowed, "Damn it!" Immediately, he led his men rushing toward the bell tower.