Against the Current - Chapter 291

Chapter 291 - Reluctance (Part 5)

Jiang Xiyun, after all, possessed a resourceful mind and was by no means an ordinary person. Lowering her head, she smoothed the folds of her skirt as if trying to iron away the surging agitation and panic in her heart. When she raised her head again, her face had already returned to a calm and serene composure. With repeated, cold chuckles, she said, "Since that is the case, anything I say is completely useless. Have you already concluded that this matter was our doing?"

Xianglan sat down on the carved sandalwood lotus-patterned Xiangfei bamboo couch nearby. Her complexion grew even paler, cold sweat practically soaking through her inner garments, yet she smiled faintly on the surface and said, "Jiang Fifth Miss is just as expected, denying it to the death."

The room fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, a few coughs broke out. Madam Jiang pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve to wipe her mouth and said, "Xiyun, come, support me, we are going home. When one wants to condemn someone, one can always trump up a charge; why bother wasting your breath talking more with her?" As she spoke, Madam Jiang leaned heavily on her cane, trembling as she stood up, and Jiang Xiyun hurried forward to support her. Raising her chin slightly, Madam Jiang wore an expression of graceful dignity, cast a cold glance at Xianglan, and turned back to say to Jiang Xiyun, "A mere lowly concubine, how is she worthy of questioning you? You've lost your senses to be talking so much with her."

Jiang Xiyun maintained a submissive posture, lowering her head as she said, "Grandmother's instruction is right." With those words, she supported Madam Jiang as they walked toward the door. Just then, Xianglan raised her voice and said, "Since the Jiang family refuses to admit it, that does no great harm either. As the saying goes, 'courtesy comes before force'; just now, I was merely giving Jiang Fifth Miss a polite heads-up. In the future, when I perform a fine deed to return the favor of today's actions by the Jiang family, I sincerely hope Elder Yi Niang and Jiang Fifth Miss will accept it with broad smiles."

Madam Jiang's footsteps paused, and Jiang Xiyun also turned her head back, her face carrying a faint trace of alarm. Following that, Madam Jiang gave a cough and strode outward without looking back. Xianglan lowered her gaze slightly, one hand slowly toying with a doucai entwining-branch begonia cup on the small table, and said, "If Elder Jiang steps out of this room, within a single hour, every noble household, great and small, as well as the common marketplaces in the capital, will be filled with rumors of the Jiang sisters wishing to marry into the Lin family and plotting to poison the Lin family's concubine so she would have no descendants. As the old saying goes, 'good deeds stay indoors while bad news travels a thousand miles.' If such scandalous news spreads far and wide across the land, being distorted with every retelling, what kind of shape will it finally take?"

The Jiang grandmother and granddaughter were greatly startled, both turning around abruptly. They saw Xianglan raise her head; her face, pale to the point of turning greenish, looked frail, yet she smiled softly and said, "I have no other skills, save for knowing how to stroke a few brushstrokes. If I were to paint the cause and effect of this whole affair, compile it into a booklet, and circulate it in the future, it would certainly make quite a bizarre tale. When that time comes, who knows—perhaps some storytelling scholar or singing performer might even adapt this into a play, or some censor official might submit a memorial straight to the imperial ears based on it. It would certainly add some spicy gossip for people to chew on over tea and leisure." There seemed to be a tone of appreciation in her voice as she continued, "Let us call it, 'A Myriad Jealousies: The Jiang Misses Poison; Every Manner of Grievance: The Lin Concubine Suffers.' Elder Jiang, Jiang Fifth Miss, how do you like this title I've chosen for the chapter?"

The Jiang grandmother and granddaughter felt their hearts and livers tremble violently. Madam Jiang took a few fierce steps forward leaning on her cane, pointed at Xianglan, and shouted harshly, "You... you... how dare you! If you dare to do such a thing, the Lin family will not spare you either!"

Xianglan's expression suddenly sank. "How would I dare not? Why would I not dare? My heart is already filled with a thousand bitter hatreds! I have long since grown sick to death of living a cautious, cowering life! Your Jiang family is so vicious as to administer such a drug, destroying the foundation of my later years and my very means of survival! Pushing me to such a state, what joy is there left for me in living? Now it shall be fish dying and the net splitting, a mutual destruction of jade and stone! Even if the Lin family casts me out or strangles me with a length of rope, I care not the least!"

Jiang Xiyun felt a rush of anxious panic. Public opinion is sharper and fiercer than a tiger; if this matter were to spread, she feared that even if she and Jiang Dan云 didn't find a rope to hang themselves with, they would have to spend the rest of their days guarding cold lanterns and ancient Buddha statues. Cold sweat poured over her as she stared at Xianglan's face. If an ordinary concubine were to throw such a tantrum, she could still treat her with disdain, but Chen Xianglan was none other than the highly renowned Recluse Lanxiang, especially since Lin Jinlou had just a few days ago gifted her paintings to high officials and romantic literati to help her build her reputation. Right now, those coming to her doorstep to beg for paintings were practically kicking down her threshold... Jiang Xiyun widened her eyes as she watched Xianglan's icy smile. Nodding slowly, Xianglan said, "I am merely a concubine, a cheap life truly worth nothing, yet I can drag down the reputations of two aristocratic daughters and the entire prestige of the Jiang clan. Thinking about it, this trade is indeed quite a bargain."

These words struck like a heavy hammer, beating Madam Jiang into a state of physical and mental exhaustion, her expression turning desolate as her body listed sideways and she nearly collapsed to the floor. Jiang Xiyun hurriedly supported her onto a chair, then raised her head to glare angrily at Xianglan, demanding, "What on earth do you want!"

Xianglan stood up, looked at Jiang Xiyun, and said, "I don't particularly want anything. Right now, I will give you two paths: either I go down with you in mutual destruction, the Jiang family's reputation is utterly ruined, and Jiang Fifth Miss will hardly find a single inch of ground to stand upon in this world; or..." She picked up the doucai entwining-branch begonia cup from the table and held it out before Jiang Xiyun, "...you drink the soup in this cup."

Jiang Xiyun looked down and saw that the round porcelain soup vessel contained an amber-colored liquid. Upon smelling it, it carried a distinct medicinal odor. Jiang Xiyun instantly understood, her voice trembling as she asked, "This is... this is..."

Xianglan sneered, "That is right. This is precisely the 'descendant-severing soup' bestowed by your good self, which I drank. Fortunately, a few pills remained undissolved, so I brewed a bowl myself and invite Jiang Fifth Miss to taste the flavor."

Jiang Xiyun's delicate, begonia-like face instantly turned as pale as paper. Her eyes widened, revealing a look of desolate terror for the very first time.

Madam Jiang glared bitterly at Xianglan, wanting to raise her cane to beat her, but her arm dropped limply, powerless. Gritting her teeth, she spat out, "You, you! How vicious you are!"

Xianglan said indifferently, "I am merely returning the treatment in kind. If my later years are to be spent lonely and destitute, by what right does Jiang Fifth Miss enjoy boundless wealth, children and grandchildren gathered around her knees, living out a life of domestic bliss?" She pushed the bowl of medicine further forward, her expression completely devoid of ripples as she said, "Miss Jiang may make her choice."

Cold sweat rolled down Jiang Xiyun's back in torrents. She felt her throat grow parched and every pulse in her body vanish, staring at that bowl of medicine as if it were a catastrophic flood or a ferocious beast. She wanted to choose neither! One was her reputation, and the other was her reliance for the rest of her days! Staring blankly, she raised her head to look at Xianglan's delicate, fair face. Suddenly, a wave of bitter resentment welled up in her chest. Completely forgetting that her eyes were already bloodshot, she let out a loud, cold laugh. "I choose? Why is it me? Hmph! The marriage was not something I willingly desired, and the medicine was clearly administered by someone else; what does it have to do with me? I merely watched with folded arms! By what logic is this debt pinned onto my head? Everyone in this world has to accept their fate; clearly, you are the one refusing to accept your fate, stubbornly sticking your head out. Which household could possibly tolerate such an arrogant concubine? Wearing the title of a concubine while usurping favor, yet wielding the authority of a legitimate first wife—I fear that even the rightful mistress marrying in hereafter will have to look at your expression to survive! During the mere days I've stayed here, when the Lin family holds domestic banquets, the maidservants and old women all say, 'First ask the Yi Niang for her instructions.' When fresh silks and satins are brought in from the shops, the outside stewards say, 'Leave the best ones first for the Yi Niang to pick through.' I don't care much for needlework, yet when I burned the midnight oil to sew a pair of knee-pads, my fingers were pricked all over with wounds, but in the blink of an eye, Eldest Cousin tossed them aside and went out wearing the pair you hadn't even finished yet! I only know that now the marriage between the Lin and Jiang families is settled with only the final steps remaining, and all the servants in the Lin family treat me with utmost deference—yet the moment you step out, they treat you with the exact same reverence as the Madam herself, scrambling to please you and being ten times, a hundred times warmer! You! Tell! Me! Who! Could! Ever! Tolerate! You?!"

Jiang Xiyun's eyes seemed to spew fire as she trembled violently, a fresh layer of cold sweat breaking out over her. Whether out of anger or fear, she dug her fingernails deep into her palms, a bellyful of words clogged in her throat, making her want to scream out loud. Her eyes widened as tears finally rolled down. "I didn't want it to be like this either, but I have hated it to the core for a long time! In front of others I still have to pretend to be cute and obedient, swallowing whatever grievances come my way while playing dumb, wearing a joyful expression on my face!"

Xianglan, however, showed no trace of anger. Instead, her expression remained calm and detached, her eyes holding a mix of pity and cold cruelty as she stared fixedly at Jiang Xiyun, asking quietly, "Are you finished?"

"No!" Jiang Xiyun reached up to wipe away a tear and sneered, "Chen Xianglan, you are a fool through and through. Since you are a concubine, you should act like a concubine—pleasing men with your beauty, flattering the mistress of the house. Even if you possess peerless beauty, even if you excel in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, even if you are the greatest talented woman in the world, what of it? You come from a servant background, and that is your identity. No matter how virtuous the mistress is, as long as she isn't a corpse, in the spirit of 'better you die than I suffer,' who has the time to pity you? By overstepping your station above the mistress, you deserve to die!"

Xianglan took a step forward and let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Your grievances, in my eyes, aren't even worth a fart. How many pitiful people are there in this world? There are plenty of souls suffering a thousand or ten thousand times worse than you, yet none of them resort to such vicious means. And just because of these petty thoughts of yours—because I am a fool, because I overstepped, because I deserve to die—you felt justified in disposing of me? In administering a descendant-severing poison?"

"I didn't administer the medicine, and I didn't harm you."

"Yet you are inextricably linked to it!" Xianglan stared proudly and fiercely at Jiang Xiyun. "'Better you die than I suffer'? For such words to come out of the mouth of the 'naturally pure and kind-hearted' Jiang Fifth Miss—previously, I thought you were merely a utilitarian and smooth-talking person who 'speaks only three parts of her mind to anyone and never lays bare her whole heart,' at worst lacking in genuine sincerity. Only now do I realize that you are completely unworthy of the four words 'naturally pure and kind-hearted.' For the sake of your own personal gain, you instigated from the middle, acted as a catalyst behind the scenes, condoned your elder sister's poisoning, and afterwards played cute and innocent while pretending to be an injured victim. Your conduct is even more disgusting than Jiang Fourth Miss's. Kindness? Bah! You engineered such an insidious and venomous scheme yet felt no bit of remorse, standing tall and righteous while fabricating numerous excuses to step on the blood and tears of others—all for the sake of your own selfishness! Yet you still consider yourself innocent, and because you left me with a shred of life, you view that as your benevolence and pure virtue. That way, even after harming someone today, you can still stamp the seal of 'naturally pure and kind-hearted' and 'bright and unblemished' right onto your own forehead!"

With every sentence Xianglan spoke, she pressed a step closer. Hearing these words, Jiang Xiyun stood flustered and at a loss for words through her tear-blurred vision, retreating step by step.

Suddenly, Madam Jiang's hoarse voice rang out harshly: "What wrong did my—granddaughter do?" Xianglan turned her head to see Madam Jiang trembling all over, leaning crookedly against her chair. "If she didn't use thunderous methods, did you expect her to let you climb over her head and lord it over her in the future? How is she supposed to command respect from others down the line!"

Xianglan swept a cold glance toward Madam Jiang. "There are thousands of ways to establish discipline and authority, yet she chose the most sinister and vicious one." She sneered, walked up to Madam Jiang, looked down at her from above, leaned slightly forward, and said slowly, "Years ago, there was an official in the Ministry of Appointments whose subordinates refused to submit to his discipline and possessed influential backers. Instead of using upright and open methods to exercise his authority, this official pretended to be on good terms with his subordinates on the surface while covertly scheming to let them make trouble and commit offenses. This eventually provoked the great wrath of his superiors, leading to those subordinates being demoted, stripped of office, and having their families ruined. One of them even died on the way to exile two months later. The official then put on a show of grief and remorse, claiming he had failed to properly discipline them, and escaped unscathed with only a minor reprimand, continuing to ride high on a good reputation as a 'refined scholar' and 'benevolent gentleman.' That exact method is identical to Jiang Fifth Miss's handiwork. Later on, Senior Grand Secretary Shen learned of the inside story and sighed deeply, saying, 'Talented without virtue, this man lacks sincerity, and this man is unbefriended.' Because of this, that official failed to receive a major promotion for five years, until Grand Secretary Shen passed away, after which he pulled every trick in the book and rose straight to the skies... That official was none other than your eldest son, Jiang Xuefan, Madam Jiang."

Madam Jiang was greatly shocked, her eyes staring straight at Xianglan.

Xianglan straightened up and said, "As the saying goes, 'when the wind blows, the grass bends; what the superiors do, the inferiors follow.' It turns out that your eldest son acts like this, and your granddaughter acts like this—they were all taught by Madam Jiang. Everyone says your face is cold but your heart is compassionate, that you are wholly devoted to Buddhism and always conduct yourself in an open and honorable manner, earning a high reputation among noble families. When discussing the character of other daughters, you speak eloquently and loftily. Yet when it comes to your own flesh and blood, you eagerly wish for your granddaughter to be ruthless and cunning, calculating to the extreme, willing to toss conscience aside so long as she doesn't suffer a single loss. Utterly selfish, caring only for her own comfort while trampling on the blood and tears of others—is this the family tutoring of your Jiang family?" Xianglan looked at the wrinkled, dejected old woman, suddenly feeling both pity and sorrow. She reached out and touched the string of exquisitely carved arhat Bodhidharma 18-bead prayer beads pinned to the lapel of Madam Jiang's garment, and said, "What a pity, what a pity. You have chanted Buddha's name for decades, yet you know nothing of mercy."

Having finished speaking, Xianglan straightened her back and locked eyes with Jiang Xiyun once more. Xianglan suddenly raised the cup of medicine and drank it down in a single gulp. Jiang Xiyun stood dumbfounded, only to see Xianglan wipe the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, stare fixedly into her eyes, and sigh softly: "This was merely a nourishing broth for replenishing yin and vital energy; I disdained to engage in such insidious and vicious acts. But look at you—a bowl of fake medicine was all it took to force out so many heartfelt truths."

Jiang Xiyun froze instantly, her gaze turning hazy and dazed.

Xianglan's entire body was soaked through with sweat. Exerting her last remaining strength, she said, "I have said all I need to say; please, Madam, Eldest Master, come out." With those words, she could no longer sustain her voice or mask her failing posture. Her body listed to one side, and she collapsed against the Xiangfei bamboo couch.

Lin Jinlou burst out from the small partition behind the bedroom in a single stride, pulling Xianglan into his arms and lifting her horizontally onto the bed. Seeing that Xianglan was covered in sweat and her complexion had taken a turn for the worse, he shouted frantically in panic, "Quickly invite the imperial physician! Go call the imperial physician!"

The Jiang grandmother and granddaughter were terribly shocked, and at that moment, Lady Qin walked out from the partition accompanied by another young man—that young man was none other than Jiang Shangxian!

Lady Qin's eye rims were red, as if she had been crying, yet her expression was as cold as frost. "Just now, Xianglan sent a maid to invite me, saying that Eldest Master was questioning things outside and couldn't quite get to the bottom of it, and that she wished to speak in private with Elder Yi Niang and Miss Xi. She asked me and Lou-ge to listen secretly from the partition. Later on, your family's Eldest Young Master insisted on forcing his way inside, so we simply had a pageboy invite him in as a witness as well. Who would have thought we would hear all of this."

Jiang Shangxian's face turned alternately red and white. Just moments earlier, his hands and feet had been bound by pageboys in the partition and his mouth stuffed, leaving him unable to make a sound even if he wanted to. Raising his head to look at his grandmother and younger sister, his gaze flickered with complex emotions before he finally lowered his head again.

On the bed, Xianglan called out, "Madam! Madam!"

Lady Qin hurried forward and asked, "What is it?"

Lin Jinlou also gripped Xianglan's hand and asked, "Where does it hurt?"

Xianglan did not look at Lin Jinlou, fixing her gaze solely on Lady Qin as she said, "Madam, Madam, I speak from the very bottom of my heart. Today I invited everyone to witness me tearing off all pretense with Jiang Fifth Miss, becoming as irreconcilable as fire and water, precisely because I am merely a humble concubine, and the Lin and Jiang families have already invited official matchmakers, making this marriage a certainty. If Madam remembers even a fraction of my past services and wishes to spare me from having nowhere to stand in the future, I beg you to let me leave..."