Against the Current - Chapter 212

Chapter 212 - The Inn (Part 2)

When Lin Jinlou approached, he saw that the girl was utterly ordinary, her face thoroughly unremarkable and filled with terror. Lin Jinlou dropped his arms limply; the excitement that had driven him to gallop back all the way was now completely gone.

Shutong's legs went soft and she dropped to her knees, letting out a trembling, "Eldest Master."

Lin Jinlou sat down, looking utterly exhausted. His expression grew even gloomier as he closed his eyes. Xianglan had still not been found, which meant she had likely been abducted by bandits. To rescue her, he needed to figure out who was behind it. He ran through the names of the people bold enough to challenge him, his mind in total disarray. He had never imagined that anyone in his own territory would dare pull whiskers off a tiger, a realization that left him both shocked and furious. The loss of Xianglan drove his rage to the boiling point. He forced his surging anger down again and again, but feeling as though he could no longer contain it, he suddenly stood up, drew the saber from his waist, and hacked it down against the Eight Immortals table with a resounding crash. A clattering of breaking porcelain rang out as the teacups and tea sets on the table were chopped to pieces, tea splashing and spilling in all directions.

Terrified, Shutong let out a string of sharp screams and nearly wet herself. Assuming Lin Jinlou was furious because she had concealed the truth and intended to execute her to vent his anger, she slammed her head against the floor in rapid succession, wailing, "Spare my life, Eldest Master! Spare my life! This lowly servant didn't mean to hide it... truly I didn't! Please spare my life, Master! Spare my life!" She begged incessantly, her forehead already bruised and purple.

Lin Jinlou paused. Being an intelligent man, he immediately caught that Shutong's tune was off. His gaze darkened as he slowly sheathed his saber, gave a slight nod, and bluffed, "Then you had better explain what this is all about. If your explanation makes sense, I'll spare your life. But if you dare play any tricks, you'll only have yourself to blame for courting death!"

Shutong stammered, "This servant wouldn't dare! This servant wouldn't dare!" Trembling all over, she recounted how Lin Dongxue had stumbled upon Lin Dong绫 and the tall, brawny actor trysting in the Three Saints Hall. She explained that the several deaths from smallpox in the household were all connected to Lin Dong绫 and the actor. Shutong cautiously lifted her gaze to peek at Lin Jinlou, seeing only an expressionless face staring at him as coldly as a Yama from the underworld. A shudder wracked her entire body, and she babbled through the rest of the story in a stutter.

Lin Jinlou demanded, "What did that actor look like?"

Shutong replied, "The Fourth Young Miss only said that the actor was tall and brawny... roughly... roughly the same build as the Eldest Master... with his face painted in theatrical makeup, so his features couldn't be seen..." She began to weep again. "...This servant simply thought the Third Young Miss was planning to elope, and the Fourth Young Miss was afraid of trouble, so the matter was suppressed and never spoken of. Besides, with seven or eight lives lost in the estate, if word got out... if the Second Branch found out the Young Miss had witnessed such a disgraceful affair, they would likely have resented her as well..." Her voice grew softer and softer, devoid of conviction, until she finally trailed off into silence.

Lin Jinlou crossed his legs with refined poise, lowered his gaze to look at Shutong, and said, "So, according to you, you really are a good servant who thinks only of your young mistress."

Shutong shrank back slightly, pressing herself flat against the floor in terror.

With a sharp snap, Lin Jinlou bounded to his feet and strode toward the door, calling out, "Someone come! Tie her up, throw her in the carriage, and take her away!"

Shocked, Shutong opened her mouth to wail, but an entering guard promptly stuffed a gag into it.

Lin Jinlou ordered further, "Take twenty men to Dubin's house and arrest his entire family! Not a single person is to be missed!" The guards acknowledged the command and departed. Lin Jinlou let out a long breath, chugged half a cup of cold tea, and forced down the boiling rage within him. When Zidai had mentioned the embroidered pouch earlier, he had assumed the girl was just talking nonsense to pin the blame on Xianglan. But hearing Shutong's account now, everything suddenly clicked into place! It turned out the Du siblings had conspired to set a trap for him!

Matching his build, tall and robust, with Lin Dong绫 addressing him as "Du Lang"—who else could this person be if not Dubin? This ungrateful traitor had seduced his cousin long ago, and after losing favor in his household, must have latched onto some other backer, working both inside and out to scheme against him. With the year-end approaching and two marriages to prepare for in the coming year, Madam Qin and the other mistresses and young ladies had stopped going out, making temple rituals the only way they could stay overnight away from home. That scoundrel had intentionally had Lin Dong绫's maid contract smallpox and colluded with Meihua to use a disease-tainted pouch to take his life. Yet somehow, that pouch had ended up in Yingge's hands, causing everyone who touched it to perish. He had previously wondered why Dubin had rescued the Second Branch's mother and daughter, especially since Dubin was not among the personal guards he had dispatched to the temple. Thinking back now, it was clear Dubin had been colluding with outsiders to kidnap the female family members, and only turned back on his plans when the guards caught up to him. He only regretted that his mind had been entirely fixed on finding someone at the time, preventing him from looking deeper into the matter. A sudden thought struck Lin Jinlou: on the night of the incident, Lu Shaotang had invited him to drink at the Yihong Pavilion... Could it have been him?

At that moment, a guard stationed at the door reported, "Reporting to the General, all the suspects have been captured, except for Dubin and his eldest sister Meihua, whose whereabouts are unknown. I heard that ever since Meihua returned from the Lin residence saying she was taking her concubine-mother to burn incense at the temple, she hasn't been seen since. Dubin went out on duty a few days ago and never returned either."

With a loud crash, Lin Jinlou hurled a cup against the wall, his teeth gritted as he spat out a few words, "Good, very good indeed! Throw them all into the military prison and await further sentencing!" With that, he whirled around and stormed out.

Galloping all the way back to the Lin residence, he found Shuangxi waiting to greet him the moment he stepped through the main gate. Sensing the murderous aura radiating from Lin Jinlou, Shuangxi instinctively halted, ducked his head a fraction lower, and stared fixedly at his own shoes. "The Old Master has sent people to ask for you several times, saying you are to go straight to his quarters the moment you return..." Catching a side-glance of Lin Jinlou flashing past like a gale, Shuangxi finally let out a breath of relief. Turning his head, he spotted Guiyuan stepping out from the inner courtyard carrying a birdcage. Shuangxi marched right up, smacked him in the back of the head, and scolded, "Didn't you see how abnormal the masters have been ever since they came back yesterday? You still have the mood to play with birds. If the Eldest Master decides you're an eyesore later and beats you senseless, don't blame your big brother here for not warning you."

Rubbing his head, Guiyuan aggrievedly muttered, "This belongs to Miss Xianglan. One of the bird-feed jars broke, so I brought the cage out to replace it."

"Bah! Miss Xianglan indeed!" Shuangxi spat, lowering his voice. "Miss Xianglan hasn't even come back, and the Eldest Master's face is pitch black. Just count how many people in this world can make the Eldest Master's face look like that?"

"Who?" Guiyuan lowered his voice as well, rolling his eyes. "Could it be Marquis Yongxin who never returns gifts, the corrupt Commander Chen who keeps everything he receives, or that shrew from the Zhao family sending people over to pester us again?"

"Tsk... Why don't you understand? Truly hopeless. Fine, fine, stop lingering around the Eldest Master." Seeing that Guiyuan was still clueless, Shuangxi gave him a light kick in the backside and snapped, "Get lost already!"

Clutching the birdcage, Guiyuan scrambled away. He stopped only after rounding a corner, glanced back at Shuangxi's retreating figure, and scoffed to himself, "As if I don't understand! Your brother Guiyuan's heart is clear as a mirror. It's just that Miss Xianglan rubbed the Eldest Master the wrong way again; it'll all blow over in two or three days." He teased the bird in the cage and grinned, "In front of the people the Eldest Master relies on, you have to play a bit dim so you don't become an eyesore, right?" Whistling a tune, he skipped off, leaving the matter there.

Meanwhile, the moment Lin Jinlou stepped into Old Master Lin's courtyard, he felt a chilling, oppressive atmosphere. Everything was deathly quiet without a soul in sight, save for the main hall, which was brilliantly lit. Two of Old Master Lin's trusted old servants stood guard at the entrance, rushing to push the door open the instant they saw Lin Jinlou approach.

Stepping inside, Lin Jinlou found Old Master Lin and Old Madam Lin seated prominently in the seats of honor. Qin Shi and Lin Dongxue sat on the lower left, while Wang Shi and Lin Jinting occupied the opposite side. Kneeling right in the center was Lin Dong绫. Lin Dong绫 was weeping uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face like rain, while Wang Shi also had swollen eyes and sniffled intermittently. Lin Jinting wore a look of utter indignation, his eyes wide and fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. Qin Shi and Lin Dongxue kept their heads lowered in silence.

Old Master Lin struck the tiled floor with his cane and said, "You're here. You've come at just the right time. Your father and second uncle are both away, and your third sister has things to say—she's been raising a ruckus and threatening self-harm all afternoon. Listen to what she has to say."

Turning around, Lin Dong绫 wept to Lin Jinlou, "Eldest Brother! I... I... I fell into the hands of bandits last night and was gone for the entire night. Although nothing unclean happened, my reputation is nonetheless ruined. I owe my escape entirely to your personal guard, Commander Du. Such a profound life-saving grace can never be repaid. He saw me clad only in undergarments, and escorted me home in full view of the public. Now my only recourse is to offer him my hand in marriage. If... if you people force me into a corner, I will have no choice but to end my life with a single hemp rope..." With that, she broke down into soft sobs once more.

After crying for a moment, she sensed something was amiss and cautiously raised her head. What she saw was Lin Jinlou burning with fierce rage, his eyes bloodshot, looking every bit like a malevolent night-demon from the underworld. Struck with sheer terror, Lin Dong绫 felt her bones turn to jelly, and she instinctively scrambled backward while whimpering softly.

Lin Jinlou's fury could no longer be suppressed; a foul, choking rage surged straight to his throat. He strode forward, grabbed Lin Dong绫 by the collar, and hauled her straight to her feet. Terrified out of her wits, she shrieked and struggled, "Elder Brother, what are you doing? Let me go! Let me go!" Before her words could even fade, Lin Jinlou landed a vicious backhand across her face, the slap ringing so loudly in her ears that it left her dizzy, disoriented, and bleeding profusely from both nostrils.

Everyone present stared in open-mouthed shock. Old Madam Lin shouted, "Eldest boy, stop this at once!" Wang Shi had already leaped out of her seat, lunging forward to grab Lin Jinlou's arm as she yelled, "Lou'er, what are you doing? What on earth are you doing?! Ling'er is young, so if she made a mistake you should teach her properly—why are you hitting her?! Let go of her! Let go right now!" Turning her attention to Lin Dong绫, she saw a swollen palm print starkly raised across that delicate face, blood dripping down to stain her garments. Wang Shi burst into frantic tears, crying, "My child! What has happened to you? Say something to me!" Then she glared furiously, shouting, "The Old Master is right here! What do you think you're doing?! Let go, or don't blame this aunt of yours for being discourteous—you must give me an explanation for this!"

Qin Shi hurried forward, struck Lin Jinlou twice, and scolded, "Have you lost your mind?! Let go of her immediately!"

A cold, sneering laugh escaped Lin Jinlou as he roared, "Lost my mind? It's this third sister of mine who has lost her mind! Shameless, filthy beast, colluding in adultery with a traitorous slave under my command, bringing smallpox into the estate, and scheming to bring ruin upon our family... And now she's jumping up and down demanding to marry the very paramour she's pining for! Splendid, just splendid! Weren't you two shouting about how deep your affection is? I'll beat you to death right here today, and then go put him out of his misery. As your older brother, I'll grant your wish to be a pair of star-crossed lovers in the underworld!" Even as he spoke, his hands rained down seven or eight heavy blows amid sharp slaps. The force behind Lin Jinlou's strikes was more than any ordinary person could endure, let alone a delicate young woman like Lin Dong绫. These blows immediately knocked teeth from her mouth, left her face looking like a shattered storefront, and rendered her unable even to cry out.

Kicking and thrashing against Lin Jinlou with her hairpins coming loose, Wang Shi dropped to her knees before the Old Master and pleaded, "Old Master, won't you do something about him?! I'm begging you! I'm begging you!" Completely ignoring her, Lin Jinlou sneered coldly, "I've tied up two of the maidservants. If Second Aunt doesn't believe me, she can go question them herself to see whether the deeds she pulled can be forgiven or not! Or must you wait until this degenerated wretch destroys the entire family before you're satisfied?!"

With tears in his eyes, Lin Jinting knelt on the floor and pleaded, "Brother, stop now. The elders are all here—there's no need to push things to such extremes..."

With a pale face, Old Master Lin rose, slammed his cane heavily against the floor, and bellowed, "Scoundrels! All of you, stop! What kind of spectacle is this?!"

Lin Jinlou casually tossed Lin Dong绫 aside onto the floor. With a wail of anguish, Wang Shi lunged forward, using a handkerchief to wipe the blood from Lin Dong绫's face. Seeing her daughter's dazed, vacant expression, Wang Shi clutched her close and wept, "My child! You've suffered so much!" She repeatedly ordered someone to fetch a doctor, casting venomous glares at Lin Jinlou through her tears.

Turning a blind eye to Wang Shi's weeping, Lin Jinlou looked at his grandfather's ashen face and said, "Dubin must have allied with outsiders, and nine times out of ten that person is Lu Shaotang. That brat is desperate for money; not long ago he was trafficking military supplies, and this time he tried to kidnap the female members of the household to extort a ransom—by the time the silver arrived, none of us would have made it back alive. It's just that Dubin and Meihua have already slipped away..."

Before his voice could fade, Lin Dong绫 abruptly sat up. Her face smeared with an unidentifiable mixture of blood and tears, she babbled incoherently yet desperately shrieked, "Lies! Du Lang would never do such a thing! You're all talking nonsense! Nonsense!"