Against the Current - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Tearful Complaints

It is said that after Xianglan fiercely struck Second Aunt Lü with the door-latch and publicly exposed her by uncovering the stolen garment, Second Aunt Lü had been hopping mad inside her house. She was just gritting her teeth and plotting to pour out a thorough, tearful grievance the moment Second Uncle Lü returned from his duties, when suddenly she heard a knock at the door and a voice called out, "Is anyone home? Chunyan is back from the estate!"

Second Aunt Lü hurried to open the door and saw her eldest daughter, Chunyan, standing on the threshold. Chunyan was dressed in an ocher-colored bodice patterned with phoenix tails and chrysanthemums. In her hair she wore a pure gold hanging-bead hair-pin alongside two agate hairpins, from her earlobes dangled emerald earrings, and on her wrists she wore intertwined gold and silver bracelets. She cut a truly wealthy and imposing figure, though she looked somewhat haggard, with a thick layer of cosmetics applied to her face to mask her complexion. Standing beside her was an elderly woman, and trailing behind them was a young maid of seven or eight carrying a bundle.

Delighted to the point of frantically rubbing her hands, Second Aunt Lü clapped once and exclaimed, "I wondered who it could be! So the phoenix of our family has returned!" She ushered her inside and made to pour tea for the accompanying old woman.

Chunyan fished a handful of coins from her sleeve, shoved them into the old woman's hand, and assuming a demeanor of aloof reserve, said, "Trouble you, Mother, to take the little maid back to wait by the carriage. Take these coins to buy some wine first."

Beaming with joy upon receiving the money, the old woman grabbed the little maid and departed. As soon as the door was shut, Second Aunt Lü asked, "Why have you come home out of the blue? You've returned right on time—you have no idea, there was a matter just a moment ago..."

To her surprise, Chunyan burst into a loud wail before she could finish. Startled, Second Aunt Lü showered her with rapid-fire questions. Covering her face with a handkerchief, Chunyan shook her head while weeping. Second Aunt Lü pulled her into the inner room and sent the three younger children out to play. Only then did Chunyan wipe her tears with the handkerchief and sob out, "That little hussy Yingge is a full month pregnant!"

Yingge was also a bedchamber maid to the Lin family's eldest young master, Lin Jinlou. Although she had been assigned to his chambers two months later than Chunyan, she managed to outshine Chunyan at every turn. While Second Aunt Lü stood momentarily stunned, Chunyan vented bitterly, "I simply can't accept this! The eldest young master has three bedchamber maids; when it comes to looks and figure, how am I inferior to that little hussy? Even the eldest young mistress holds me in high regard, treating me with greater warmth than the others and promoting me in every matter. The eldest young master used to be fond of me too, and even gave me several pieces of jewelry and clothing, but he got his eyes bewitched and his legs softened by that little flirt! That floozy only knows how to sing a few tunes to amuse the men—she's just a cheap, gutter-trash street-flower. To elevate her to a secondary mistress would make a mockery of the Lin family's dignity!"

Second Aunt Lü asked, "Now that she's pregnant, what did the eldest young mistress say?"

With her face streaming with tears, Chunyan replied, "The eldest young mistress hasn't borne a single child in the four years since she entered the household, so what could she possibly say? The Old Mistress's rewards have already arrived, and she even dispatched two elderly matrons and two married women to look after that little hussy, alongside two additional young maids assigned to coarse chores—it's almost as grand as a young lady's retinue! On top of that, there are silver and jewelry—brand-new pure gold head-ornaments and gold and silver bracelets—and word has it that as long as the child is born safely, boy or girl alike, she will be raised to a secondary mistress..." With that, she slumped facedown onto the kang and wailed loudly.

Hearing this, Second Aunt Lü grew anxious as well. Yingge's parents also served within the estate. Originally, it hadn't amounted to much, but ever since both their daughters were taken into the eldest young master's chambers, the two families had been at daggers drawn. Whenever they crossed paths, they exchanged icy taunts, hurled veiled insults, and had even resorted to physical blows on several occasions, harboring a bone-deep enmity. If Yingge were promoted to secondary mistress first, Second Aunt Lü felt she would lose all face, suffering a humiliation far worse than if Xianglan had struck her a few more times with the door-latch. Right then, she patted Chunyan's back and urged, "Since that little whore has bunched up a bun in her belly, she won't be able to serve the eldest young master. You must quickly win the eldest young master's heart, have him spend a few nights in your quarters, and conceive a son early on so you can be raised to a secondary mistress as well!"

Chunyan straightened up, wiped her tears, and said, "It's not nearly that easy. The eldest young master is constantly away from the estate—one moment he's off to the capital, the next to Yangzhou. Whenever he finally manages to stay home for a few days, he either has that flirt Haimian serve him or goes straight to Yingge's room, treating me with absolute indifference and ignoring the eldest young mistress entirely. With the eldest young master currently in the capital, I hear the eldest mistress back in the capital has found him a virtuous concubine—one who is both gorgeous and gentle. When the eldest young mistress heard about this, she sat stunned for a long time before taking my hand and saying, 'Yanyan, although you and I are mistress and servant, our bond is like that of sisters. Even those dowry maids of mine aren't as close to my heart as you; the moment I saw you, we had an unspeakable affinity. Yingge looks seductive and bewitching, and I never liked her to begin with. But now our plights are the same—the eldest young master doesn't care for me, and I have nothing to say, only hoping that the person I favor might win his glance. To think that you, too, are such a pitiful wretch.'

When I heard those words, I flew into a rage and told the eldest young mistress, 'That hussy Yingge is bullying you right to your face. You may be a forbearing and virtuous person, but I simply cannot swallow this insult.' Yet the eldest young mistress just wept and said, 'Even if you can't swallow it, you must endure it. Who told my womb to be so unblessed? Word has it that the capital has found yet another concubine for the eldest young master, reportedly the daughter of a scholar, outstanding in every single aspect. That leaves even less ground for the two of us to stand on. Yingge is currently the apple of the eldest young master's eye, so you should steer clear of her as well, lest you march straight to your own destruction...'"

As she spoke, Chunyan took the cup of warm tea handed to her by Second Aunt Lü and drained it in one gulp. Tossing her tear-soaked handkerchief aside, she drew another one from her sleeve, dabbed at the corners of her eyes, and continued, "Countless malicious souls in the estate are waiting to make a laughingstock out of me, while Yingge struts around right in front of my eyes all day long, cradling her waist and clutching her belly! Every single day it's either fish or chicken she demands to eat; one minute she complains the food is too salty, the next she claims the broth is too bland. The small kitchen bends over backward to cook this and that for her, terrified of slighting her in the least. If I want so much as a bowl of any other dish, I'm met with rolling eyes and sour faces... No matter how choked up with grief I am inside, I still have to plaster a smile on my face. If I hadn't come home today to have a good cry, I wouldn't have been able to go on living..."

Second Aunt Lü spun around in a frenzy. Their family's entire future was tethered to her eldest daughter's skirt-strings; if her daughter lost out on favor to someone else, the Lü family's good days would come to an end. Not to mention that Yingge's entire clan was at odds with the Lüs, and if they were crushed underfoot in every single respect, forget her daughter—their entire family would find it impossible to keep a foothold. Smacking her lips, she muttered, "Even someone as formidable and imposing as the eldest young mistress is utterly helpless?"

Chunyan arched her brows and snapped, "What possible help is there? Could she somehow pluck the seed out of Yingge's belly and shove it into mine?"

Second Aunt Lü pondered for a moment, her expression turning dark and sinister. "Even if we can't pluck it into your belly, we can't let her carry it to term and give birth!"

"What do you mean?" Chunyan looked at Second Aunt Lü's ferocious expression and leaned in slightly closer.

"Your third paternal great-aunt used to be a professional midwife in the estate; I followed her around for a spell when I was serving there in my early years. If you want to stop a pregnant woman from delivering her child, methods are a dime a dozen: wolf-and-tiger medicines, abortive needles, conflicting foods—season it with two or three such ingredients and that little slut will have all she can handle."

Chunyan gave a start, feeling her hair stand on end, and lowered her voice. "What if this is found out..."

Second Aunt Lü let out a cold snort. "If we do it cleanly, who could ever find out? Do you think the Old Mistress and the Mistresses are innocent? Great noble households are filthy to the core—who hasn't got human lives on their hands?" Clasping Chunyan's hand, she earnestly urged, "My good girl, ever since you were small I knew you were different from your sisters—you were born both striking and clever. Now that you've entered the estate and become the eldest young master's bedchamber maid, you're on the verge of becoming half a mistress of the Lin family, and the eldest young mistress is elevating you. This is a heaven-sent opportunity! Your parents' remaining years, your brothers and sisters, and your own lifelong prestige all rest upon these next few years. Your third paternal great-uncle manages a medicinal herb shop; I'll go have him mix up a small medicine for you... Heh heh, feed one dose to that little slut, and slip another quietly into the eldest young master's tea bowl. I guarantee he'll dote on you a few more times at night."

Chunyan's face went pale at first, but as she listened further, it flushed completely crimson. Second Aunt Lü tucked a stray lock of hair behind Chunyan's ear and whispered softly, "The first month is the most unstable, the absolute easiest time to induce a miscarriage..."

By the time Chunyan stepped out through her family's front door, she was already refreshed and high-spirited. She had retouched her hair and smoothed fresh rouge and powder onto her face, though her eyes remained slightly swollen. Carrying a wooden tub out to dump dirty water, Xianglan happened to catch sight of Chunyan standing at the courtyard entrance turning back to speak with Second Aunt Lü, so she swiftly ducked behind the grape arbor.

Of the Lü family's daughters, Chunyan was the one she had seen the least. Because she had previously resided in the Jingyue Convent, by the time she scaled the wall to return to secular life, Chunyan had already entered the estate as a maidservant for several years. She vaguely remembered Chunyan as a pretty girl, and had once sighed to Mistress Xue that Second Aunt Lü's wretched bamboo had somehow sprouted a fine shoot, though Mistress Xue had retorted that Second Aunt Lü had also possessed some beauty in her youth, only to bloat like a sow after giving birth.

Seeing Chunyan now, that opulent attire made her look even more striking than before. The thick layer of cosmetics plastered across her once delicate and fair face lent her an added dash of seductive allure, and as she swayed her water-serpent waist, she cut the exact picture of a bedchamber maid relying on her looks to serve a master. Xianglan curled her lip. According to the gossip of the neighborhood gossips, Chunyan spent nearly all her monthly stipend and her master's rewards on tailor-made, novel, and expensive garments and exquisite hair ornaments, only bringing home the clothes and accessories she no longer cared for to give to her parents and siblings. Xianglan thought to herself that if Chunyan had been willing to spare a bit more money to help sustain the household, Second Aunt Lü wouldn't have been reduced to stealing things from their home every single day.

Watching Chunyan step out and board her carriage, Xianglan shook her head, tossed out the water in her basin, and turned back inside.