Against the Current - Chapter 281

Chapter 281 - Ulterior Motives

Xianglan was startled, instinctively taking half a step back. Lin Jinlou wore a dark expression as he first looked at Xianglan. When he turned around, although a faint smile had already formed on his face, his gaze was displeased. He asked Yuan Shaoren, "What were you just talking about?"

Yuan Shaoren replied calmly, "I was just thanking her for looking after Deger these past few days. The Aunt-Grandmistress was feeling reluctant to part with him when she heard I was coming to take Deger away."

Just at that moment, Chu Dapeng strode up to them, smiling broadly as he called out, "Hey, hey, why are you two brothers lingering out here? Everyone inside is still waiting... Oh, and this is the young sister-in-law. My greetings to you, my respects to you." Shifting his posture into a posture of meticulous respect, he bowed deeply and said, "I just had the privilege of admiring your precious calligraphy and painting, and it filled my heart with awe and admiration. Had I not been held back by trivial matters, I surely would have sought your personal guidance."

Lowering her skirt and dipping into a curtsy, Xianglan replied, "Young Master Chu speaks too highly; I am utterly ashamed."

Chu Dapeng then went over to pull Yuan Shaoren by the arm, urging, "Brother Yuan, hurry back to the banquet. A few people were just asking about you and looking everywhere for you." With that, he hoisted Deger up into the air with one hand and laughed, "You little rascal, you've grown heavy again. Let's go!"

Deger burst into high-pitched giggles. Chu Dapeng hooked Yuan Shaoren's arm with his other hand, turned back to address Xianglan, and said, "Young sister-in-law, this humble brother takes his leave first." With those words, he dragged Yuan Shaoren away.

Once the three of them reached the veranda, Chu Dapeng motioned his personal page over, ordered him to take Deger off to play, and furrowed his brows as he said, "Old Yuan, you've always handled matters with a sense of propriety. What has gotten into you today? Running off to see the one in Lin Jinlou's quarters! Even though Deger and a maidservant were present, it still wasn't proper to act like that. I happened to pass by with Tyrant Lin and saw the whole thing. You should have seen his face—it looked like the God of Wrath. The moment he spotted the two of you standing together, he charged over without a second thought. I was genuinely afraid he would flip out and completely disregard all these years of brotherhood."

Yuan Shaoren let out a long sigh and remained silent.

Patting Yuan Shaoren's arm, Chu Dapeng consoled, "Alright, stop wrinkling your face up like a dried sour plum. She's just a woman, after all. Granted, Chen Xianglan is truly gifted in every possible way, but if you search carefully across the under-heaven, you can probably find a few more like her. Stop getting stars in your eyes every single time you lay eyes on her."

Yuan Shaoren glared at him and snapped, "What kind of nonsense are you spouting! What 'stars in your eyes'? I have always treated her with utmost respect—don't measure a gentleman's measure by your own petty yardstick!"

Chu Dapeng reached out to sling an arm around Yuan Shaoren's shoulders, chuckling, "Look at that, getting all worked up, aren't you? Your brother trusts your character; we've shared a close bond since the days we ran around bare-bottomed."

This remark actually managed to amuse Yuan Shaoren, wiping away half of his lingering gloom. He batted Chu Dapeng's arm away and retorted, "Who shared a bare-bottomed bond with you? By the time you were running around without clothes, this lord had already entered the academy."

Chu Dapeng laughed heartily. "Yes, yes, yes. Well, regardless, it's still a friendship of over twenty years..." As he spoke, he tugged Yuan Shaoren along and pulled him away.

Now, as for the departure of the three men, Lin Jinlou wore a dark and gloomy expression as he demanded of Xianglan, "What were you two talking about just now?"

Xianglan's heart had already been torn to shreds moments ago, leaving her entirely without the energy or spirit to humor Lin Jinlou. Lowering her head dejectedly, she muttered, "We weren't talking about anything." With that, she turned to walk away.

Lin Jinlou blocked her path, furrowed his brows, and barked, "Whose face are you putting on an attitude with? Who are you turning your back on?"

Lowering her head, Xianglan shook off his blocking hand and started walking forward again.

Annoyance flared within Lin Jinlou. "I haven't even called you to account for privately meeting an outside man yet, and you're still acting all sullen over here. You..." He broke off as he caught sight of Xianglan's eyes, which were bloodshot to the rim. Tears were rolling down drop by drop, and her entire face was a portrait of utter heartbreak and shattered sorrow, yet she was desperately biting back her tears so as not to sob out loud. Lin Jinlou froze. The second half of his sentence caught in his throat, and his voice dropped two entire octaves as he asked softly, "What... what's wrong with you?" He reached out to wipe away her tears, but Xianglan turned her head sharply to dodge his hand. Using her sleeve to hastily dab at her eyes, she broke away from his grasp, covered her face, and hurried off at a quick pace.

Lin Jinlou remained frozen in place.

Seeing that Xianglan had departed, Xiaojuan slipped quietly over to the side of the wall, tiptoeing stealthily toward the moon gate. Just as she was about to brush past the entryway, she heard Lin Jinlou call out from behind, "You there, come here!"

Xiaojuan's entire body stiffened. She slumped her shoulders, mentally cursing her rotten luck, and shuffled over with lowered brows and a submissive demeanor, asking, "What are the master's instructions?"

Lin Jinlou interrogated, "What was your mistress talking about with that other person just now?"

Xiaojuan thought to herself, Those two spoke in such low tones, and I was far away with Deger trying to catch butterflies. Keeping my eyes on that little ancestor was already more than enough to handle for fear he'd bump or fall—when would I ever have the spare attention to listen in on what they were discussing? But she dared not voice these thoughts aloud. Carefully and cautiously, she replied, "They didn't talk about anything out of the ordinary. They simply exchanged pleasantries; Master Yuan praised the Aunt-Grandmistress's paintings and thanked her for looking after Deger."

Lin Jinlou let out a cold snort through his nose. "Just that? Who do you think you're trying to fool? How could she cry like that? If you don't start being entirely honest, I'll have you hauled out of here and sold off this very instant."

Frightened out of her wits, Xiaojuan hurriedly dropped to her knees on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly as she pleaded, "I wouldn't dare! I truly wouldn't dare deceive the master, every word I said is the absolute truth. I vaguely caught Master Yuan mention the name 'Lianniang'—she must have been Deger's birth mother. Perhaps the Aunt-Grandmistress pitied Deger for losing his mother at such a tender age, and that's why she shed tears. The Aunt-Grandmistress has always possessed a soft heart, as the master well knows..." As she spoke, she sneaked an upward glance, though she didn't dare look too closely.

After a long silence, a heavy "Hmph" rumbled from above, and the pair of dark-blue satin official boots standing before her finally turned and walked away. Only when Lin Jinlou was completely out of sight did Xiaojuan let out a long, ragged breath. Feeling as though her entire back had been drenched in cold sweat, she collapsed limply onto the ground. Guiyuan poked his head out from the doorway and, seeing that the coast was clear, scurried over like a puff of smoke, grinning, "Sister Xiaojuan, it's such a scorching hot day—are you just kneeling here for fun?"

Xiaojuan glared at him and snapped, "Piss off! Aren't you going to help your older sister up?!"

Little Guiyuan scrambled to haul Xiaojuan to her feet, then inquired solicitously, "Are you thirsty? Shall I bring you a cup of tea to calm your nerves?"

As Xiaojuan smoothed down her clothes and hair, she retorted, "At least that counts as a conscience-driven thing to say." With that, she followed Guiyuan to the covered walkway at the back to sit down. Before long, Guiyuan brought back a cup of tea.

After taking a couple of sips, Xiaojuan heard Guiyuan chatter, "Today the master took the Aunt-Grandmistress's paintings upfront to build up her prestige. Who knows how the Jiang family side is going to take it? These past few days, the estate's servants and runners have constantly been huddling together whispering, and whenever they see me coming, they scatter apart."

Xiaojuan gave a cold, mocking laugh. "I can guess every single word that crowd is chewing over. A bunch of weather-vane opportunists—may their tongues rot away." Then, turning to Guiyuan, she warned, "Now that the Jiang family has arrived, hearts and minds all over the estate are in a restless flutter, everyone is staring right at us. You are strictly forbidden from making any missteps or bringing any more trouble to your mistress."

"Naturally," Guiyuan replied. Then he added, "I just saw Master Lu signal his page and send him off to deliver a message to the people over at Menghfang Courtyard. It's probably related to the master boosting the Aunt-Grandmistress's standing today."

Xiaojuan paused for a moment, then gave a bitter, wry smile and murmured, "When I look at the position the mistress is in sometimes, it makes my heart ache for her, yet there's simply nothing she can do about it. The mistress says the Jiang family might look soft and pliable, but they are far from easy to manipulate. From where I'm standing, a storm is about to brew." As she spoke, she turned her head to gaze in the direction of Menghfang Courtyard. In the distant sky, a low rumble of thunder rolled across the horizon, and a torrential downpour came pelting down.

Inside Menghfang Courtyard, Lu Chaozong's personal page knelt outside the beaded curtain and reported, "...That's precisely how things stand, Madam. My master said he had you praise the Fifth Young Miss out there, yet the other fellow turns around and builds up his own concubine's prestige instead. Staying in this place a single moment longer makes him feel utterly disgraced." With that, the page clamped his mouth shut and remained completely silent.

Everyone in the room fell into a heavy stillness, broken only by a sharp crack of thunder. With a soft cry of "Oh my," Lady Jiang swayed and collapsed against the bolster at the head of the bed. Panic erupted among the company as they scrambled to crowd around her in concern, only to find Lady Jiang's complexion ashen and gray, her spirit utterly sapped.

With tears streaming down her face, Jiang Xiyun dropped to her knees on the floor and choked out, "Grandmother, Grandmother, how are you feeling? It... it is all your granddaughter's lack of filial piety!"

Gritting her teeth, Lady Jiang shook her head. Lusuo stepped forward holding a bowl of clear water and produced two medicinal pills, waiting upon Lady Jiang to take them. A heavy, stifled groan emerged from Lady Jiang's chest as she closed her eyes and leaned back against the bolster without a word.

Jiang Feyun sat inside the kang, holding a fan in one hand to gently fan Lady Jiang while using the other to stroke her chest and help smooth her breathing. Jiang Xiyun wept softly as she knelt at the head of the bed, clutching Lady Jiang's hand. Having been raised by Lady Jiang since childhood, the bond between grandmother and granddaughter was naturally extraordinary. Suddenly seeing Lusuo enter and cast a significant look in her direction, Jiang Xiyun stood up, wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve, and walked outside, asking quietly, "What is it?"

Lusuo glanced around left and right. Seeing that nobody was near, she hastily pulled Jiang Xiyun into the small tearoom and shut the windows and doors tightly. Puzzled, Jiang Xiyun asked, "Sister Lusuo, what are you doing?"

With a furrowed brow and deep anxiety etched across her face, Lusuo whispered, "Fifth Young Miss, I just overheard a matter. Originally, I wanted to report it to old madam, but given old madam's current condition... Yet if I said nothing, I felt it was a matter of grave importance. Eldest Miss is a married woman after all, and in a short while she will be returning home with her husband. After turning it over and running it through my mind, I had no choice but to discuss it with you first. You have always been clever and possess a clear head."

Jiang Xiyun replied, "Don't rush to flatter me just yet. What on earth is the matter?"

Lusuo lowered her voice further. "Just now, Fourth Young Miss and Qingfen came back from outside. Fourth Young Miss was fatigued and went to lie down on the bed to sleep. Qingfen stood watch by the bed looking completely absent-minded, so I went over and asked her about it. She dragged me outside and told me in secret that things are far from peaceful over at Lin's Second Grand-Aunt's quarters—the maidservants were squabbling over favor to become concubines, stirring up a disgraceful scandal involving a packet of child-ruining poison. When Second Grand-Aunt Xuan was chewing them out, that packet of medicine slipped out and fell beneath a stone table, and Fourth Young Miss quietly picked it up. When Qingfen asked Fourth Young Miss what she wanted with it, Fourth Young Miss told her to mind her own business... Qingfen has always been a coward and is already scared out of her wits. She's terrified that Fourth Young Miss might commit some irrevocable wrong in a moment of muddled impulse, which would not only ruin others and herself, but also drag her down as an accomplice. Yet she didn't dare speak up, fearing that if she leaked the matter, Fourth Young Miss would grow to resent her in the future. Qingfen is usually on good terms with me, so she begged me to think of an idea and make a decision for her. I originally wanted to tell old madam, but with old madam in this state..."

Jiang Xiyun froze. A look of deep contemplation crossed her features as she slowly nodded and muttered to herself, "So that's how it is..." As she thought, she lost herself in thought, slowly sitting down on a stool. Staring blankly at the stove, she watched as the water in the kettle on top began to bubble and roll in a steady boil.

Recovering her wits, Jiang Xiyun's eyes regained their sharp clarity. She turned to Lusuo and said, "Sister Lusuo must under no circumstances mention this matter to grandmother. Grandmother's health is already failing; if we add this turmoil on top, I'm afraid it will cause a catastrophe. I'll keep an eye on this matter." With a meaningful, pointed nod, she added, "Sister, rest assured, I know what I'm doing in my heart."

Lusuo let out a sigh of relief. Her greatest fear was that Jiang Danyun, harboring jealousy toward her younger sister, might use that poison to commit some unmentionable act against her. Seeing that Jiang Xiyun already understood the gravity of the situation, she smiled and said, "It's good that the young miss is aware."