Against the Current - Chapter 240

Chapter 240 - Returning Late

The maid hastily replied, "It will be done after a moment longer of simmering." Tan muttered a couple of complaints, evidently harboring dissatisfaction. Xianglan could not help casting another glance at the maid, while Shuran whispered in her ear, "This maid is called Xilu. She has served the Second Master since she was little and originally held the most respectable position in the Second Master's rooms, except that the Second Young Mistress couldn't really tolerate her once she crossed the threshold... That's why she was driven out here to brew medicine."

Hearing this, Xianglan felt compelled to look again. She saw that the maid was around sixteen or seventeen years old, possessing a slender and gentle frame with apricot-shaped eyes and peach-blossom cheeks. Indeed, she had a certain distinction about her, looking quite different from ordinary maids. Yet, dressed in semi-worn clothing, she was crouching beside the stove, her face flushed red from the heat of the fire, a fine sheen of perspiration beading on her forehead. The maid used a handkerchief to cushion the handle of the casserole, carefully pouring the medicinal liquid into a small porcelain bowl. Suddenly, she heard Tan bark an order, "Hurry up!"

Startled, Xilu's hand jerked sideways, and the scalding medicinal broth spilled across her wrist, leaving a patch of angry red. Enduring the pain, she wiped at it haphazardly with a handkerchief and hurried inside with the medicine. Seeing her in this plight, Xianglan was reminded of her own circumstances back when she served as a maid for Cao Lihuan, and a wave of pity stirred within her. Lifting her skirt, she stepped into the room and heard Tan scolding Xilu, "Clumsy-handed and slow-witted, you can't even handle this tiny task. What use is keeping you around except to eat for free?" Catching sight of Xianglan and the others entering, Tan abruptly cut herself short, instructed Xilu to serve tea, and stood up to ask, "Why have you two come over?"

With a warm smile, Xianglan replied, "The master heard that the Second Master was unwell and couldn't set his mind at ease, so he had us come take a look." She gestured toward the carrying basket, adding, "Inside here is a freshly simmered bowl of bird's nest soup with added medicinal herbs, all of them warming and restorative. We cross-checked the ingredients against the Second Master's prescription to ensure there are no adverse interactions. While the medicinal properties are still potent, please have the Second Master partake of a little." She then handed the bolt of fabric from her embrace to Tan, saying, "Take this material and have a skirt made. When the Eldest Mistress returned, she mentioned that pomegranate-red skirts are currently all the rage in the capital."

Tan took the fabric and looked it over. Seeing how smooth, glossy, and brightly colored it was, a smile naturally bloomed on her face as she exclaimed, "Oh, is this capital silk? With such fine material, you would have been better off keeping it for yourself."

Xianglan smiled. "I still have some left."

Tan was right at that age when a woman values her appearance. While she did own a few nice garments, they were hardly numerous, and she had long desired to make a red skirt, only hesitating because she disliked the off-colors available in the shops. Superior silks typically cost three or four taels of silver, which made her heart ache to spend, and being a newlywed bride, she could hardly demand such luxuries from her parents-in-law. Now that this bolt of fabric had fallen into her hands, her long-held wish was fulfilled, so she did not refuse it. Instructing a maid to put the material away, she cast much warmer smiles toward Xianglan, though a lingering trace of discontent surfaced in her heart upon noticing that the sleeveless vest Xianglan wore was a full grade finer than the capital silk gifted to her, secretly branding Xianglan as petty.

The two of them chatted for a while about Lin Jinxuan's illness. Tan could only sigh, "For the Second Master to have such an unsound constitution at his age—who knows if he'll be able to last for the long haul..." As she spoke, the rims of her eyes turned red.

Xianglan offered comforting words, "With careful recuperation, the Lin family can afford any precious medicine. In my view, the Second Master doesn't have any major affliction; it's just a succession of minor ailments that happen to heal rather slowly. In a few days, we can invite a couple of good physicians to take another look."

Tan merely shook her head. Lin Jinxuan had coughed for half the night yesterday, keeping her awake as well. If things continued like this, she would either end up a widow or living the life of a widow in all but name—either way filled with the loneliness of a spring chamber, while the rooms forever reeked of medicine, pressing down on her chest until she felt stifled. Having only just married in, she already found these days agonizing, and she shuddered to think how she would endure the long, stretching years ahead. Yet she was too ashamed to voice such thoughts aloud, and moreover, her relationship with Xianglan was merely a superficial acquaintance. She merely murmured, "Actually, you are rather blessed. The master's constitution is robust, and he holds power and influence."

Xianglan offered a faint, detached smile. "What blessing is there in being a mere concubine? So long as the master favors you today, you enjoy a slice of splendor, but 'the thousand-li banquet must eventually come to an end.' One only hears the new brides laughing, never the old ones weeping. Who knows what things will look like down the road."

Seeing Xianglan dressed in such radiance, Tan had initially harbored a twinge of jealousy, but upon hearing these words, she felt somewhat more at ease and blurted out, "They always say beauty fades with age; there is certainly some truth to that."

Shuran, standing nearby, frowned visibly at this remark. Xianglan's expression remained lightly smiling, and she kept silent.

Only after the words left her mouth did Tan realize how sharp they sounded, and she felt a bit awkward. Seeing that Xianglan didn't show the slightest displeasure, behaving as though she hadn't heard at all, Tan finally let out a sigh of relief.

Shuran chimed in, "It is getting late. We shall take our leave." Xianglan smoothly rose to bid farewell. Once they stepped outside the courtyard, Shuran murmured under her breath, "The Second Young Mistress has no filter on her mouth whatsoever, blurting out whatever crosses her mind. Considering she comes from a scholarly official family, she puts on airs of a great lady, yet every single word she utters is like a knife. She doesn't know how to leave a little virtue in her speech."

Xianglan replied, "She is young after all, and married to such a frail, sickly husband. It's only human nature for her to harbor unpleasant feelings and vent her pent-up frustrations on us. Who knows how the Second Master's health will hold up in the future? The Second Young Mistress is actually a pitiable person herself." If Tan had been an honest and dutiful sort, it would have been one thing, but from her attire today—the plum-red peony-patterned sleeved tunic, the aqua-green skirt, her hair coiled high, and her face powdered and rouged—it was obvious that even with her husband sick abed, she still possessed the vanity to adorn herself. This clearly showed she was a woman of restless mind and distinctly flirtatious inclinations. With Lin Jinxuan in such a physical state, he was certainly incapable of trifling with her in matters of romance... Thinking of this, Xianglan shook her head and thought, Unless Tan learns to master her own temperament and desires, she has plenty of grueling days ahead of her.

Upon returning to their courtyard, the medicine had already been fetched. Shuran hurriedly instructed Lingsu to brew it, and after it was done and cooled to a lukewarm temperature, she stood by to watch Xianglan drink it down. Reluctant as she was, Xianglan had no choice but to swallow it straight down her throat. A wave of anxiety washed over her: if she were truly to conceive Lin Jinlou's child, would she genuinely be trapped playing the role of a man's concubine for the rest of her life? Could she possibly harden her heart, abandon the child, and forge a path out of this household entirely on her own later on? If she tried to flee with the child, her only option would be to slip away in secret, but she still had aging parents—where could she possibly run to? Curled up in the warm chamber, listless and disheartened, Xianglan stared at the wall as she lay down, her mind spinning with chaotic thoughts until she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up, the lanterns were already lit. Sitting up, Xianglan felt her head foggy and heavy, having lost all sense of time. Lingqing was keeping watch by the brick bed doing needlework; seeing Xianglan wake up, she laid her work aside and said, "The mistress is awake. Would you care for some tea? The master is entertaining guests this evening and sent Shuangxi back with a message that he won't be returning for dinner. What would the mistress like to have tonight?"

Xianglan wiped her face to clear her head, and as she dressed and stepped down from the bed, she answered, "Keep it light. Stir-fry a couple of green vegetables. That mushroom soup from yesterday was quite good." Lingqing then dispatched a young maid to the kitchen to order the dishes.

After finishing her meal, while Xianglan was amusing herself by playing out an endgame puzzle from a Go manual, a sudden wave of clarity washed over her. Things had already reached this pass, so she might as well let nature take its course. Since she was completely at her wits' end, she would simply have to deal with whatever challenges arose when they came; worrying herself sick would only serve to torment her own mind. Reaching this realization, Xianglan instructed Huashan to put the Go board away, exchanged a few casual words with the maids, and went to bed.

In a haze between sleeping and waking, she heard voices outside, followed immediately by the bed curtains being pulled back. Lin Jinlou stumbled in, sat heavily on the bed, discarded his outer garments haphazardly onto the floor, pulled back the quilt, and lay down, carrying a wave of thick, pungent alcohol fumes that assailed her senses.

Xianglan propped herself up half-way and leaned over. Her initial impulse was to pull back the bed curtains, have the night-watching maid bring hangover soup and hot tea, and fetch a steaming hot towel. But as she drew closer to Lin Jinlou, she detected not just the smell of wine, but also a cloying, greasy scent of powder and perfume—a clear indication that he had just been out indulging in romantic pleasures. Xianglan's two slender, elegant eyebrows furrowed slightly. Lowering her gaze, she saw Lin Jinlou lying motionless with his eyes closed. Just as she paused in a daze, Lin Jinlou suddenly reached out an arm and yanked her straight into his embrace. Xianglan hurriedly began to struggle, but Lin Jinlou rolled over to pin her beneath him, mumbling thickly, "What are you thrashing about for?"

Biting her lip, Xianglan averted her face. Disregarding her evasion, Lin Jinlou planted a kiss straight onto her lips. When Xianglan turned sideways to press her face against the wall, Lin Jinlou pressed flat against her back, draping an arm across her waist and burying his face in her hair. Xianglan remained completely frozen, lying stiff as a board. The thought that Lin Jinlou had just been intimate with another woman and, with his carnal urges still unslaked, had now come looking for her filled her with an inexpressible sense of humiliation and bitterness. She waited quietly for a moment, intending to gently shift Lin Jinlou's arm away, but the moment she made the slightest movement, she heard Lin Jinlou drone lazily, "Stop moving."

Sensing that the man's part between his powerful thighs had already hardened and was pressing against her buttocks, Xianglan instantly dared not move another inch. Lin Jinlou had always done as he pleased; whenever the mood struck him, his appetite for bed matters knew no bounds, and Xianglan lived in terror of him rousing his lust once more. Tonight's circumstances were exceptionally difficult for her to bear, yet she feared arousing Lin Jinlou's displeasure and stirring up further trouble. Thus, she simply lay there quietly, her mind wandering to the painting she had only half-finished, the Go game she had left half-played, and the needlework she had half-completed. Fragments of memory drifted through her mind: her days spent in the temple, and back in her previous life when she used to accompany her parents to visit family friends and relatives, strolling through exquisitely delicate and beautiful gardens. It felt as though that garden belonged to the Lu family, yet at the same time seemed like the Land family's estate. Back then, she was still quite young, wearing her hair in twin buns, holding a sprig of peach blossoms to tease the fish in the lake before her wet nurse hurried over to scoop her up in her arms... Events of her past life felt too distant—so far away that she sometimes fancied she had merely dreamt the whole thing.

Lost in these rambling thoughts, Xianglan fell asleep at some point. When she woke up the next morning, she found herself tucked tightly inside Lin Jinlou's arms. His robe was unfastened, exposing his robust chest as it rose and fell with his breathing. He seemed to be sleeping soundly, one arm still wrapped securely around her waist. Beyond the bed curtains came the faint, hushed sound of footsteps as Xueling whispered, "Should we wake him?" Usually, this was the hour when Lin Jinlou would get up to practice his martial arts and shadowboxing.

Lingqing hesitated and said, "The master drank too much last night and came back late..." She paused to listen intently, catching the sound of Lin Jinlou's soft, even snoring from within, and added, "The master is still asleep... Perhaps we should go ask Sister Shuran?"

The two maids whispered among themselves and went off to check.

Xianglan gently sat up, draped a robe over her shoulders, and cautiously parted the bed curtains. Putting on her shoes, she stepped down from the bed just as Shuran led a group of maids into the room. Seeing that Xianglan was up earlier than usual, Shuran hurriedly motioned for the maids to attend to her. Noticing how soundly Lin Jinlou was sleeping, Shuran consulted with Xianglan, saying, "The master came home late yesterday. Shall we let him sleep a bit longer and wake him at the hour of Chen?" Inwardly, she mused: When the master staggered home last night, his legs could barely support him; he had thrown up after drinking the sobering broth and could barely walk straight. Young Master Chu had been so terrified that the master might fall off his horse that he specially sent his own sedan chair to escort the master home. Under normal circumstances, the master would have spent the night lodging outside; even the most popular courtesans in the capital couldn't keep the master's feet planted there, yet here he was, personally hiring a physician for her and wanting her to bear him an heir. Tsk, this Chen Xianglan must have lived a charmed life in her past existence.