Against the Current - Chapter 251

Chapter 251 - The Study (Part 3)

By now, who across the entire capital did not know that Lin Jinlou had a deeply favored person in his quarters? Even old Yuan praised him for his wonderful fortune with beauties. Although little Xianglan had thrown a fit of temper today, she hadn't let him lose face in front of Song Ke, so he would magnanimously choose not to bicker with a woman and would simply coax her with a couple of sweet words in a moment.

Xianglan lay with her eyes closed, waiting for a long time, but hearing no movement around her, she thought to herself that the tyrant must have already left. She cautiously cracked open her eyes and turned her head to look, only to find that Lin Jinlou was still sitting right there at the head of the bed.

Seeing Xianglan turn her head to steal a glance at him, Lin Jinlou leaned in close to her ear and murmured, "Still angry, huh? Ah? You didn't even come out on the losing end—look at my face, this is the very first time it's ever happened to me from the time I was a child. Hey, let me tell you, it's a good thing the mistress isn't here right now, otherwise if she saw this, she'd certainly give you a severe lecturing."

Xianglan kept her eyes tightly shut and refused to utter a word.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Jinlou moved the kang table out of the way, lay down on his side, and reached out to gather Xianglan into his arms. Breathing in the faint, delicate fragrance of her hair, he lowered his voice and said, "Alright, stop being angry. It's just an injury to your hand, it'll heal in a couple of days. Your master apologizes to you, and in a few days I'll take you out for another stroll." With that, he propped himself up on his elbow and lowered his head to kiss her.

Xianglan was in no mood to horse around with him over this and instinctively began to struggle. Lin Jinlou pressed his entire weight down upon her, leaving Xianglan gasping for breath with no room to move, save for her little feet kicking back and forth underneath him. When she finally managed to push him away, she shrank back even further into the corner of the wall.

Seeing her lips glowing a vibrant, brilliant red, her face as fair and delicate as carved jade, and her demeanor brimming with a charming, tender grace, Lin Jinlou felt his fondness swell even further. He pulled her back into his embrace, chuckled in a low voice, and warned, "You'd better not move around, lest your master loses his restraint and takes you right here—then all our previous efforts would go to waste. The imperial physician explicitly stated that we cannot share the marriage bed during the first few days of taking this medicine."

Xianglan's face flared a brilliant crimson in an instant. She gave a soft scoff of disdain, leaving herself with no choice but to let him hold her.

Smoothing down her hair, Lin Jinlou continued, "The political situation in the capital is shifting, and His Majesty's dragon body is unwell, so I'm afraid we'll have to stay here for quite a few more days. The weather is gradually growing warmer, and if you didn't bring any summer garments from Jinling, we can pick up some fine fabrics later and have a few fresh sets made. Secondly, Third Little's wedding was originally scheduled to be held toward the end of this year, but the Li family's young lady's grandmother suddenly fell gravely ill, and I hear she probably won't last much longer. If she passes away, the wedding will have to be delayed by yet another year. Grandfather's intention is to push this matter through and have it settled quickly, so Second Aunt and Third Younger Brother will be arriving in the capital in the next few days. Second Aunt is a reasonably broad-minded and lenient person; if she runs into any difficulties managing Third Younger Brother's wedding, you can step in and lend a hand. If I recall correctly, didn't you help organize a poetry club once before?"

At first, Xianglan had no desire to pay him any mind, but upon hearing this, she felt something was amiss and couldn't help interjecting, "Didn't Second Young Master take a wife? By rights, it's her place to help out. If I do a good job, fine; if I don't, it will only give people something to point their fingers and poke fun at behind my back. Besides, I'm accustomed to a quiet life and don't care to meddle in these sorts of affairs."

Unconcerned, Lin Jinlou stroked Xianglan's hair as if he were petting a stray kitten and chuckled, "Tch, what are you afraid of? Your master is right here backing you up; whoever dares to be blind and run their mouth, I'll wipe them out."

Xianglan curled her lip in a silent scoff. Then she heard Lin Jinlou say, "As for all those other people, you can ignore them as much as you like, but Third Little is different. He grew up trailing right behind my coattails. Back when I was training in martial arts, he tagged along to learn as well, but the spoiled young whelp couldn't stand any hardship—he'd barely practice a couple of sloppy moves before running off. Second Aunt only has this one precious darling root of a son, and she couldn't bear to see him suffer, which is why he was sent off to study books day in and day out. The brat hasn't stopped using my prestige to go around starting fights with people outside, and I've simply turned a blind eye to it. Later on, when he was around thirteen or fourteen, he acted like a regular little tyrant and even had the audacity to publicly harass a commoner's daughter on the street. I tracked him down to a deserted alleyway and gave him the beating of his life, thrashing him until there wasn't a single patch of unbroken skin left on his body. For three solid months, the mere sound of my voice would make him tremble all over, yet the kid actually showed some backbone—even after taking such a brutal beating, he stubbornly insisted he'd gotten into a fight with someone else. Truth be told, he hadn't broken any bones, just superficial flesh wounds, but that boy was howling like a ghost while applying the ointment."

Xianglan thought to herself: So Lin Jinling had taken beatings from Lin Jinlou too. No wonder he's terrified of his older brother like he's seen a ghost, acting like a complete lackey whenever he's around Lin Jinlou.

Smacking his lips, Lin Jinlou mused, "Tch, why did I beat him? Wasn't it precisely because I was afraid his reckless bullying of men and women would ruin the Lin family's reputation and give others grounds to criticize us down the road?"

Hearing those words, Xianglan opened her eyes wide in utter disbelief. He actually lectured Lin Jinling about bullying men and women? Then what on earth does that make her? Wasn't she forcibly seized by him?

Seeing Xianglan staring at him with her big eyes rounded in shock, Lin Jinlou chuckled softly. He reached out to pinch her small chin and stroked her lips as he said, "Because your master saved your father, and you offered yourself to me as a repayment of your own accord. Your master has always been a refined and courteous gentleman—how could I ever engage in the despicable act of seizing men's daughters by force? What do you think, little Xianglan?"

Xianglan slapped Lin Jinlou's hand away, thinking to herself that this man possessed absolutely no shame whatsoever.

Lin Jinlou chuckled softly once more, patted Xianglan's shoulder, and remarked, "I've actually found myself quite bewildered by you. Your mastery of the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting is passable enough since you picked it up from the nuns in the temple—your teacher, Abbess Dingshui, was originally from an official's household and a well-bred young lady of a prominent family, so it's hardly surprising she knew those things. What's truly bizarre is where on earth you learned bookkeeping, household management, and banquet planning, hmm? Ordinary girls from common families certainly don't pick those up. Back in the day, my eldest sister had to swallow her pride and flatter my mother endlessly just to learn a fraction of those skills."

A cold chill ran through Xianglan's heart. Lin Jinlou was peerlessly sharp and impossible to fool; after racking her brains for a moment, she replied in a soft voice, "Who knows any of those things? I only know the absolute basics. The neighbors in our alley were all people who served in the Lin household, and there were a few elderly nursemaids who had retired from the manor and come out to spend their twilight years. Just a casual remark here and there was enough for me to pick up a thing or two."

"Oh? And what about today when you threw that frantic fit in front of me and blurted out something about 'living two lifetimes'? What was that supposed to mean?"

"No, it didn't mean anything. I'd had too much to drink and was just talking gibberish... Did I really say something like that? I've forgotten all about it..."

Still laughing, Lin Jinlou gently stroked Xianglan's shoulder and said, "Little Xianglan, you know, you have a distinct flaw: whenever you lie, you never dare look people in the eye."

"No, I'm not lying..."

"Tch, you silly girl." Lin Jinlou couldn't help chuckling again. "Even if you've lived two lifetimes, and even if you were some fox spirit that feeds on the vital essence of men, your master wouldn't be afraid." With that, he studied her face closely for a moment, pinched her chin, and added, "Come to think of it, looking at this pretty little face of yours, you really do resemble a fox spirit." His sharp eyes narrowed slightly as he murmured, "As for you, you'd better reel in that restless heart of yours and put aside any thoughts of playing mind games with your master. You are far too soft-hearted; even if you live not just two lifetimes, but several more on top of that, you will never be a match for me. Serve me well, take your medicine obediently, and safely bear an heir for your master. That way, your parents will have something to lean on for their medical needs and final retirement in their later years. Otherwise, you can figure out the consequences yourself. Do you understand?"

Xianglan felt a cold sweat instantly break out across her forehead. Though Lin Jinlou had spoken quietly, he was like a tapeworm inside her stomach, seeing right through her every single plan and calculation. This time, she didn't even dare swat away the hand he had clamped onto her chin.

Having delivered his threat and looking thoroughly satisfied as he gazed upon Xianglan's pale face, Lin Jinlou lowered his head to press another kiss to her lips. By now, lamp-lighting time had arrived, so Lin Jinlou instructed everyone to withdraw and escorted Xianglan back to the inner courtyard.

In accordance with Lin Jinlou's prior instructions, dishes had already been served in the rooms. After taking a few bites, Xianglan lost her appetite, but Lingshu—knowing she was feeling unwell—had the small kitchen specially prepare some rice porridge, coaxing Xianglan into finishing two full bowls. Once the meal was over, Lin Jinlou gathered Xianglan into his arms as they sat together on the arhat bed, and ordered Shuran to fetch the wardrobe inventory book so they could go over the list of clothing Xianglan had brought with her.

Shuran left and returned a moment later, holding the ledger in her hands as she reported, "The garments that my lady brought from Jinling this time consist of the one hundred and sixty-nines sets newly tailored over the past two months."

With a hum of acknowledgment, Lin Jinlou instructed, "Turn to the page for outer jackets and read them off."

Flipping through the pages, Shuran located the relevant section and read aloud, "Pearl-red embroidered plum blossom, orchid, and chrysanthemum; foreign-red embroidered peony; silver-red embroidered full wealth and honor; foreign-red embroidered eight treasures; imperial-red embroidered hundred butterflies threading through flowers; rouge-red group-embroidered boundless good fortune; salmon-red embroidered magpies alighting on plum branches; crimson plain satin; azalea-red plain satin..."

Shuran had barely read through a fraction of the items, and she hadn't even finished listing the various shades of red jackets, when Xianglan found herself entirely losing patience and couldn't help asking, "Why on earth are you having her read all this?" Lin Jinlou ordinarily never bothered himself with such trivial matters of inner-courtyard attire and dressing, preferring simply to scatter vast sums of money to have others make clothes for him.

Toying idly with Xianglan's fingers, Lin Jinlou drawled lazily, "My second younger brother's wife happened to see one of the jackets you wore somewhere, and she took a fancy to it, wanting to have a matching set made for herself. When she brought it up to Second Younger Brother, he actually came to see your master in person. I told him to send a maid to ask you for it directly, but Second Younger Brother stammered and muttered something about the fabric being exceptionally hard to find and the pattern being too difficult to replicate. Before he even finished his sentence, his face was already burning red."

Xianglan understood the situation instantly. If Lady Tan genuinely wished to copy the garment, all she had to do was dispatch a maid to borrow it from her. By having Lin Jinlong approach Lin Jinlou instead, she was clearly angling to have the clothing given to her outright. Such a thought was hardly surprising; Lin Jinlou had always outfitted her with the finest and rarest fabrics available, and the embroiderers who crafted her patterns were famous names throughout the city of Jinling. Some of those garments were so exclusive that others couldn't buy them even if they had the silver to spare. Lady Tan was young, fond of dressing up, and naturally drawn to vibrant, striking apparel. Being a newlywed bride, she hadn't dared to come ask in person, so she had sent Lin Jinlong instead. Prompted by this realization, she asked, "Which one does she want?"

Lin Jinlou replied, "I don't quite remember clearly. Seemed like something with magnolias."

Checking the ledger, Shuran said, "There are three jackets fully embroidered with magnolias: an apricot-yellow one, a lotus-root-pink one, and a kingfisher-green one. My lady has only ever worn the apricot-yellow one, so Second Young Mistress must have caught sight of it when you went out to social engagements today."

Xianglan remarked, "I got drunk today, and that garment got stained with vomit..."

A cold smirk touched Lin Jinlou's lips. "How wonderfully convenient." He instructed Shuran, "Tell Second Younger Brother that the garment got soiled, and since your sister-in-law no longer cares for it, it's already been given away to a maid. If they still want it, they can send someone over to fetch it from the maid." Pausing for a moment, he called back Shuran, who was turning to leave, and added, "Go to the storeroom and pick out two bolts of grayish-floral and sky-blue silk, and have them sent over to Second Younger Brother." Then, turning back to Xianglan, he said, "A dirty piece of garment isn't worth a thing—just let the maids have it, and later on I'll have better ones made for you."

Shuran gave a quiet shake of her head. Lady Tan clearly had no inkling of Lin Jinlou's temperament. Even if Lady Tan had openly and plainly asked for the garment outright, someone as habitually generous and magnanimous as Lin Jinlou would have simply chuckled and handed it over. But because she had come sniffing around with hidden, calculating motives, Lin Jinlou despised it to the core, preferring to toss it to a servant girl rather than grant her request. Yet, fearing he might cause Second Young Master to lose face, he had made sure to compensate by having two bolts of high-grade fabric sent over instead.