Against the Current - Chapter 261

Chapter 261 - The Jiang Family (Part 1)

Rising early the next morning, Xianglan went to pay her respects to Lady Qin, first offering a set of sachet pouches she had crafted with her own hands. "The weather is gradually turning warmer, and mosquitoes are starting to multiply," she said. "This is some needlework I did during my free time. I've packed several medicinal herbs and dried flowers inside that calm the spirit and repel mosquitoes. You can tie them to the corners of your bedding or place them beside your pillows so you can sleep soundly at night."

Lady Qin took the sachet and inspected it. It was a sandalwood-colored gourd sachet embroidered with lotus flowers in golden thread. It was slightly larger than ordinary sachets, exquisite in pattern and meticulous in stitching, and packed full. The moment she held it in her hand, a subtle, delightful fragrance immediately filled the air. Before Lady Qin could even utter a word of praise, she saw Xianglan present the household account books and tally tokens as well. "I am young, ignorant, and rather foolish," Xianglan said. "These past few days, I've had to rely entirely on Shuran and the others to help me stumble through. Now that you have returned, Madam, I no longer dare to display my clumsy skills before an expert."

Lady Qin paused, then looked closely at Xianglan. She saw a face wreathed in a shy, amiable smile, devoid of even a shred of displeasure. Lady Qin's gaze grew complex. This Chen Xianglan truly was a clever person; yesterday, when she had only slightly revealed her displeasure, Xianglan had immediately understood. She had always believed that a concubine was best when she was strikingly beautiful, somewhat clumsy, and honest to a fault—too much cleverness only invited trouble. Yet Xianglan... As she looked at that face, fresh and radiant like a peony moistened by rain, a genuine sense of pity stirred within her. For a girl to live with such sharp clarity—she could not tell whether it was a blessing or a curse. Yet the stone in Lady Qin's heart finally dropped to the ground, and she smiled, saying, "It was all that child Lou'er's fault for bringing you so many vexing troubles. If he bullies you in the future, just come and tell me."

Xianglan merely pursed her lips into a smile and lowered her head slightly. A faint, self-deprecating scoff crossed her mind. Her management of the internal affairs of the Lin household had indeed been an overreach of her station. Yesterday, she could tell from Lady Qin's expression that she was unhappy about it. Lin Jinglou would sooner or later remarry, and no one would ever want a concubine holding real authority in the household; otherwise, what noble, high-born lady would be willing to marry in? Even though she had saved Lady Qin's life once and Lady Qin was truly grateful, no matter how great the favor, it would inevitably fade day by day as time passed. Human debts of gratitude always reached a day when they were fully paid off. She naturally understood Lady Qin's thoughts, which was why she had so eagerly offered up this hot potato first thing in the morning. These things were never what she wanted in the first place, so why keep them in her hands and invite unnecessary scrutiny? Raising her head, she saw Lady Qin smiling warmly and affectionately, instructing Lulan to serve a tray of deep-red, succulent cherries for her to eat.

After the two chatted idly for a while, a matron announced, "Second Young Madam has arrived." As Tan Luhua entered the room, Xianglan stood up. Tan Luhua performed her bows first, and Lady Qin motioned for her to take a seat. Tan Luhua sat down in a chair, purposely pulling it an inch further forward so that she sat even closer than Xianglan. She inquired after Lady Qin's health, then fished a sachet from her sleeve, presented it forward, and said, "My needlework is crude, but it represents a small token of my sincerity."

Lulan, who was tending to things nearby, thought to herself, How coincidental—Xianglan brought a sachet, and Lady Tan brings one too. Stretching her neck to look, she saw it was a dark-green ingot-shaped sachet embroidered with butterflies frolicking around yellow peonies, far less exquisite or refined than Xianglan's. Lulan thought silently, If it were a gift for an elder, this sachet might pass muster, but since Xianglan delivered one first, it only makes this one look shabby by comparison—not to mention how generously the Madam rewarded Xianglan yesterday.

Tan Luhua smiled and said, "Inside are the finest musk, borneol, and cloves—truly rare ingredients. At first, I packed so many medicinal herbs into it that I could barely close the opening of the sachet, so I had to take some back out."

Lulan inwardly curled her lip, thinking that such a flattened sachet would likely lose its scent in half a month, yet she still had the nerve to claim the herbs were "so abundant the opening wouldn't close."

Lady Qin smiled faintly and said, "It is thoughtful of you to remember." She handed the sachet over to Lulan. Tan Luhua wanted to praise her sachet a bit more, but seeing Lady Qin straighten her skirt, she heard her say, "In the next few days, Old Madam's maternal aunt is coming to stay at the residence for a few days, and you must all address her respectfully as 'Elder Aunt-Grandmother.' Her eldest son serves as an Associate Administrator in the Office of Scrutiny, and he has now received imperial orders to go out to Zhejiang as a provincial administration commissioner, so the whole family is moving away. However, because Elder Aunt-Grandmother is advancing in age and the weather is growing hot, she fears falling ill on the journey, so she will temporarily reside in the capital until their estate in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is fully prepared before setting off. Their house in the capital has already been sold, and thinking that we are all family relatives, I invited them to stay here as our guests. Elder Aunt-Grandmother is bringing her youngest granddaughter to wait on her, a girl about your age. You should get along well, spend time together, and take good care of her."

Both Xianglan and Tan Luhua gave their assent.

After saying a few more words, Lady Qin dismissed the two of them. Tan Luhua left the room before Xianglan, without offering any polite farewells or greetings, simply turning on her heel and marching off. Xianglan caught up to her from behind and said, "The account books and tally tokens have now been returned to Madam. Second Young Madam, if you need any medicinal herbs in the future, you should ask Madam for them."

Tan Luhua halted her steps, turned to look at Xianglan with a flash of surprise in her eyes, and then gave a curt nod. With a cool expression and her chin held high, she walked away. Shuran was waiting outside for Xianglan, and as she stepped forward to meet her, she said, "What's gotten into her, strutting around like that? She acts all high and mighty and won't even bother answering when spoken to." Watching Tan Luhua's retreating figure—clad in a peach-pink narrow winter jacket and a silver-red gold-threaded skirt that set off her willow-thin waist, shaking her fan and leaning on her maid while swaying from side to side—Shuran flapped her handkerchief and sneered, "A few days ago, Consort Dowager Yin was complaining to me, saying this Second Young Madam demands the finest food and drink every single day, ordering whatever is most expensive. Her clothes and jewelry also have to be the absolute best. Even though the household had already made clothes for her, she took a large sum of silver to commission extra pieces for herself, spending every day dressing up like a seductive goblin. She splashes money around on herself without a second thought, but whenever she has to spend even a single cash on anyone else, she acts like you're ripping out her heart and lungs. Every time she tips a maid, she only gives one or two cash, making herself a laughingstock for everyone. Consort Dowager Yin wanted to make a pair of shoes and originally hoped for some fine silk, but Second Young Madam fobbed her off with a bundle of scrap fabric remnants, claiming they were top-grade materials so she could go take the credit in front of Second Young Master. Consort Dowager Yin wanted to speak to Second Young Master about it, but she was afraid that hearing it would anger him and harm his health, so she had no choice but to swallow her grievance. Even though Consort Dowager Yin's mouth can be sharp, she has known where to draw the line over the years and has treated Second Young Master without fault. For Second Young Madam to act this way is simply giving people no face at all."

Xianglan frowned slightly, thinking, Even if Tan Luhua is in the wrong, Consort Dowager Yin is not necessarily blameless either. Neither of these two is an easy person to deal with, and since neither is willing to yield to the other, they naturally spend every day bickering. Shuran is practically a half-mistress in the Lin household; even Madam has to give her some face. For Tan Luhua to put on airs and act haughty every time she sees her—no wonder Shuran is annoyed. Out loud, she asked, "How did Consort Dowager Yin end up chewing your ear about all this out of nowhere?"

Shuran replied, "She came looking for me to ask for shoe fabric. I remembered there was half a bolt of old material in the storeroom that had grown damp and slightly damaged, so I thought about just giving it to her. I even checked with you about it back then, Madam, and since you were busy managing the wedding banquet, you told me to just give it all to her. Consort Dowager Yin was endlessly grateful and ended up venting all these grievances to me. I've heard she's also been spreading plenty of unflattering gossip about Second Young Madam behind her back—some of it you can listen to, but some of it is downright unmentionable." Glancing around to ensure no one else was near, she lowered her voice and said, "She said Second Young Madam is a loose woman who has wrecked Second Young Master's health with her wantonness."

Xianglan was startled. Seeing her wide-eyed stare, Shuran covered her mouth and let out a chuckle.

Xianglan slowly shook her head. Shuran asked, "Why are you shaking your head, Madam?"

Over these past days, Xianglan and Shuran had grown quite close, their bond deepening beyond what it used to be, and Xianglan no longer held back certain thoughts in front of her. "Second Young Madam is truly lacking in wisdom," Xianglan said. "Consort Dowager Yin may be secondary family, but she is, after all, the biological mother of the Second Young Master, having borne him a son and a daughter. She has rendered service to the Lin family and has deep roots here after all these years. No matter how much she falls out of favor, she still retains her own network of human relations and methods. Second Young Madam has just married in, and her natal family does not hold much real power yet—why is she in such a rush to establish her authority and offend Consort Dowager Yin? Now that Consort Dowager Yin is spreading gossip about her outside, it would be one thing if Madam cared to step in, but if Madam chooses to ignore it, carrying a reputation like that will make it truly difficult for Second Young Madam to hold her head up in the future."

Shuran had previously assumed that Xianglan only knew how to hold a brush, write, draw, and calculate. Although she understood worldly affairs, she wasn't exceptionally shrewd, which was why she usually kept quiet. But after spending more time together, Shuran realized that was far from the truth; this young woman understood everything as clearly as a mirror, she simply rarely showed it on the surface. Hearing these words, Shuran nodded and agreed, "Second Young Madam is young after all, and her forbearance is lacking." Then she asked Xianglan, "What did Madam instruct you to do in the room just now?"

Xianglan said, "She mentioned that Old Madam's maternal family relatives are coming to stay at the house for a few days."

Shuran paused in surprise. "The Jiang family? Who is coming?"

Xianglan answered, "Elder Aunt-Grandmother, and her youngest granddaughter."

Shuran paused again, looking at Xianglan with a rather complicated expression. "The Jiang family's ancestors were illustrious once, but Elder Aunt-Grandmother's husband passed away early, and most of their family property was seized by greedy relatives. It was entirely thanks to our Old Madam stepping in to back them up that their ancestral assets were preserved. Elder Aunt-Grandmother hasn't had an easy time of it either; widowed and left to fend for herself, she raised two sons and a daughter. Her daughter passed away before reaching the age of twelve, and her younger son is rather mediocre, but fortunately, her eldest son studied diligently, passed the examinations, and became a respectable mid-level official. Now, favored by His Majesty, their family fortunes have risen once again."

Chatting as they walked, the two returned to the Changchun Hall. As they stepped inside, they saw Lin Jinglou sitting on the couch in a thin silk robe, holding a small clay teapot. The moment Shuran caught sight of him, she tactfully retreated. Xianglan sat down before the vanity and removed a few pieces of jewelry from her hair. Lin Jinglou sidled up behind her with an affectionate, clingy air, fiddling with her ear pendants as he asked, "What did Madam say?"

Xianglan dodged him, furrowing her brow slightly. "Stop messing around."

Lin Jinglou chuckled. "Oho, look at that face—did you suffer some kind of grievance? Did Madam give you a hard time?"

Refusing to meet his gaze, Xianglan lowered her head and unclasped the bracelets from her wrists. "No, everything is fine."

Lin Jinglou remarked, "Tsk, you're the kind of person who can't hide anything in your heart, yet you still want to pull the wool over my eyes?"

Xianglan blankly slid the bracelet back onto her wrist, staring down at her arm as she muttered to herself, "No, truly there's nothing..." Suddenly feeling warmth on her hand, Lin Jinglou grasped her fingers, reached out to lift her chin, studied her for a moment, and said, "Handing the account books and tally tokens over to Madam—you don't need to feel upset about it. I hadn't thought about this matter before, but after you brought it up with me last night, I realized what you said made sense. Letting you hand over the authority—if you're afraid of being idle with nothing to do, all my personal accounts can be managed by you from now on, how about that?"

Torn between amusement and exasperation, Xianglan replied, "It's not because of that; I handed them to Madam of my own free will... It was never my place to manage them anyway, why suffer the exhaustion and thanklessness of keeping them in my hands?"

Just as Lin Jinglou was about to ask more, he heard Jixiang shouting loudly from the second gate: "Eldest Young Master, there is a guest out front asking for an audience!"

With that, Lin Jinglou dropped her hand, changed his robes, and went off to receive the guest. Xianglan sat before the mirror for a long while. She was truly a crystal-clear, translucent person; the moment Lady Qin had mentioned it, she had seen right through it. The Jiang family's granddaughter coming to stay for a visit was simply Lady Qin keeping the girl by her side to observe her, with the intention of arranging a match for Lin Jinglou. Standing right on the precipice of a cliff, she stared at the flower-like beauty in the mirror, her hands slowly clenching into fists.