Against the Current - Chapter 298

Chapter 298 - Outing (Part 5)

The next morning, Lin Jinlou and Yuan Shaoren went out early. Xianglan stayed behind to chat and laugh with Lin Dongxiu to pass the time. Brother De originally wanted to go outside to play, but Lin Dongxiu was terrified that he would catch a cold and fall ill again. No matter how many times Brother De begged—three or four times—she flatly refused to let him out, saying, "It's no use. If the Marquis were here, let alone going out to play, I wouldn't care even if you lay down in a snowdrift." Brother De looked dejected, so Xianglan quietly slipped him a handful of pine nut candies and whispered, "We'll go see the festive lanterns tonight. If you're a good boy, I'll let you set off fireworks tonight." Only then did Brother De perk up; he lay down on the heated brick bed and began playing with the little kitten.

Lin Dongxiu asked in a roundabout way whether Lin Jinlou had agreed to go to the Marquis of Yongchang's estate to back her up. Choosing her words carefully, Xianglan replied, "The Eldest Master said that as a man, it's not proper for him to meddle in your domestic affairs, but he'll have the Madam step in."

Lin Dongxiu was a master at reading between the lines of such veiled hints. Her spirit instantly deflated by half. Tossing the wind-hood she had been sewing for Yuan Shaoren to the side, she leaned back against a bolster and went to sulk in frustration. Xianglan thought to herself, Since Lin Dongxiu has just become the Marquis's mistress and is brimming with ambition, eager to stretch her wings and make a grand display, she won't listen to any advice right now. Saying too much would only make people unhappy, so it's better to give her the cold shoulder for a while. With that thought in mind, she led Brother De over to the bed in the inner room to play. Yet her own mind remained in turmoil as she recalled Lin Jinlou interrogating the spy yesterday—especially regarding the matter of the former Crown Prince. Pondering it deeply filled her with a chilling sense of dread. While standing there in a daze, she heard the door open; it turned out Lin Dongxiu had called in trusted confidants like Qiangwei, Mother Han, and Hanzhi. The group huddled together to confer in low voices before finally dispersing.

For a time, all was quiet. It was close to dusk when Lin Jinlou and Yuan Shaoren finally returned, immediately ordering a feast to be set up upon entering. As Lin Jinlou walked into the room and saw Xianglan teaching Brother De how to play chess, Brother De heard Yuan Shaoren's voice outside, dropped his chess pieces, and ran out. Lin Jinlou said, "I just went with Old Yuan to check out the military camp stationed in the suburbs. Who should we run into but Liu and Xie, who were there drinking and boasting. When they found out I was at this estate, they insisted on coming over to take a look." With that, he glanced at Xianglan. Xianglan kept her head down as she attended to changing his clothes, staying completely silent. Catching sight of Lin Jinlou only brought back the events of the previous night with sharper clarity; the memories of how her family was ruined in her past life due to being embroiled in the struggle for the succession were still vivid in her mind, causing her heart to slowly sink.

Lin Jinlou scratched his head. The previous evening, Xianglan had also worn an expression full of preoccupied worries, likely because she had been frightened. Yet looking at her now, he felt a surge of irritation. This woman was blessed with a fine appearance and acted cordially with everyone else, so why did she have to be so stubborn and prickly with him? She kept everything bottled up inside, and on the rare occasions when she did speak her mind, it was always things he didn't care to hear. You refuse to pay me any mind, do you? Well, your Lord doesn't care to bother with you either! Wearing a gloomy face, he changed into a fresh set of clothes, spun around, and stomped out with heavy footsteps.

Xuening was peeking around the corner holding a tea tray. Seeing that Lin Jinlou had left, she cautiously approached and asked, "Is the Eldest Master angry?"

Xianglan was still lost in her thoughts and only snapped back to reality when Xuening asked her question. At that moment, she heard the barking of dogs at the entrance, signaling that someone had arrived.

Down in the front courtyard, Liu Xiaochuan walked in through the main gate, looking around and smiling as he said, "Brother, I've long heard that you had a residence here in the suburbs. I only came to check it out today, and it's actually quite decent. How about you lend it to your younger brother here to stay in for a couple of days?"

Lin Jinlou pointed at him and said, "I was wondering why you stubbornly insisted on tagging along; so you were eyeing my residence all along. Haven't you purchased properties of your own outside? Running over here to freeload off me."

Xie Yu chuckled softly, "That estate of his was taken back by the old gentleman..." Before he could finish, Liu Xiaochuan bolted over and clamped his hand over Xie Yu's mouth, muttering, "I didn't really mean to eye your property. Who would ever dare to covet your things?"

Yuan Shaoren chuckled and pointed at them, saying, "You guys, you guys. When will you ever grow out of this playful streak? The day you do, your old gentleman might finally return the properties he confiscated from you."

Xie Yu rolled his eyes and retorted, "Don't listen to his nonsense. Though courtesan Qiong is a beauty, if you put her in the capital, she wouldn't even rank among the top tier."

Just as they were speaking, the sound of tinkling jade pendants drifted in, and four heavily made-up women walked through the door. The leader, draped in a silver-red satin cloak and holding a pipa in her arms, walked in with graceful steps. First offering a shallow, elegant bow, she spoke with a voice as sweet as warbling orioles: "This humble woman pays her respects to all the masters." Removing her hat, she revealed a delicate, lightly powdered face—the absolute picture of a beauty. She was also skilled at grooming and styling; her pitch-black, glossy hair styled in cloud patterns was without a single stray strand, gathered in a delicate knot. Once she took off her cloak, she revealed a purple gauze floral jacket paired with a bright crimson pomegranate skirt. When Qiong Zhi laid eyes on Lin Jinlou, she was instantly struck dumb with shock. Quickly lowering her head to mask her agitation, she couldn't help but keep raising her eyes to steal glances at him.

As it turned out, this courtesan Qiong was none other than Qiongzhi, the maid who had once served by Zhao Yuechan's side. Earlier, in order to secure Lin Jinlou's affections, Zhao Yuechan had painstakingly handpicked and purchased this girl to bring into the household, never expecting that Lin Jinlou would show her no favor. When Zhao Yuechan left the Lin estate, she took this maid with her. Later, in order to secure her marriage into the Dai family, she schemed to have Qiongzhi seduce her own brother, Zhao Gang. But after Zhao Gang grew tired of the novelty and cast her aside, she returned to Zhao Yuechan's side. Qiongzhi was not one to stay quietly in her place either, and she soon began flirting with Dai Rong until they crossed the line. Originally, Qiongzhi had been living quite comfortably in the Dai family, but she never anticipated that Zhao Yuechan's grandfather, Zhao Jin, would be framed and put to death, causing Zhao Yuechan's standing in the Dai family to plummet overnight. Qiongzhi had always been used to ordering people around arrogantly, leaving others to swallow their anger in silence. Now that the mighty tree had fallen and everyone was pushing the crumbling wall, someone went straight to Jiao Shi, the formidable wife of Dai Rong, and exposed the illicit affair between Rong and Qiongzhi. Jiao Shi, who was cut from the cloth of a shrewish matriarch, could hardly swallow such an insult. A tremendous uproar ensued right then and there, and Qiongzhi was hauled out in the dead of night and sold straight into a brothel.

By a twist of fate, Qiongzhi had now ended up playing music and singing at Lin Jinlou's country estate.