Against the Current - Chapter 307

Chapter 307 - A Heavy Gift

Xianglan remained frozen in place. She gently shook Zhao Yuechan, only to find the latter’s head had already slumped forward. When she reached out to test her breath, there was none left—she had truly returned to the netherworld.

In Xianglan's eyes, this woman could be considered guilty of countless crimes, but to see her die right before her eyes filled her with a sense of desolation and bewilderment. She sat paralyzed to the side for a long moment, before finally bringing the embroidered bodice up before her eyes.

Items used by Zhao Yuechan were naturally supremely luxurious. The bodice had a white satin lining and a bright red satin exterior, embroidered with a design of gold and jade filling the hall, complemented by five-colored precious vases, scalloped greens, and peach pinks in an extremely striking pattern. Xianglan inspected the bodice from top to bottom and found nothing out of the ordinary, but as her hand inadvertently gave it a light squeeze, she felt something different in the bottom corner. Feeling around, she realized the inner lining seemed to conceal an object. She fetched a knife, cut the bodice open, and pulled it apart to reveal a small oilcloth packet that rolled out. Xianglan unwrapped the oilcloth to find several sheets of letter paper tucked inside. The handwriting was sweeping and chaotic, clearly scribbled in haste, and read:

"Shocked to learn a secret rumor, utterly terrified! My trusted confidants investigated closely and actually verified my worst suspicions. Lin Jinlou conspired and gathered with the former crown prince, even dispatching bodyguards to assist him heading west. A crime of such treasonous magnitude deserves the execution of the entire household and extermination across nine familial relations! Furthermore, for wallowing in brothels and pleasure quarters, cultivating courtesans, insulting and humiliating my granddaughter Yuechan, casting aside his wedded wife, and disregarding the union of two great clans, he is truly utterly heinous! However, Yuechan also has her failings. Vicious though Jinlou may be, he still possesses three praiseworthy deeds: First, valiant and battle-tested, he has repeatedly vanquished enemies, fighting rebels for the sake of the nation and the state with unyielding tenacity—even His Majesty has praised him. Second, he used his own funds to purchase over a thousand mu of righteous fields, letting the poor till them without collecting a single cash or a single grain of millet; whenever famine struck, he invariably opened granaries for disaster relief, broadly dispensing convenience so that the common people wept with gratitude. Third, as a commanding general on independent campaigns, he maintained absolute discipline without committing the slightest offense against autumn down, never wrongfully slaughtering a single soul; during his southern expedition to suppress bandits and pacify rebellions, he banned the slaughter of cities, capturing only able-bodied men while releasing all the elderly, weak, women, and children, to the point that the populace bore bamboo baskets of food and vessels of liquor to welcome the imperial army, causing His Majesty's benevolence and awe-inspiring reputation to spread far and wide. These three points constitute profound righteousness. Burdened with sorrow and anxiety, hesitant and undecided, I have finally come to sigh: although he assisted the former crown prince, no rebellious maneuvers were seen, and there was still an intention of loyalty to the late emperor. Though I hate and resent him out of personal enmity, I must not harm a loyal and capable official! Let this matter be sealed in silence."

The pages that followed detailed precisely whom Lin Jinlou had sent to escort the former crown prince, the route they took, the inns they stayed at, and where they were delivered.

As it turned out, after Zhao Jin passed away, Zhao Yuechan went to mourn him. Taking advantage of the chaos in the Zhao family and the general panic, she colluded with Zhao Gang to bribe a page boy into stealing her grandfather's collection of books, antiques, calligraphies, and paintings to sell. They accidentally stole a locked black lacquer box, and believing they had struck treasure, they pried it open only to find the box contained nothing out of the ordinary—merely miscellaneous notes and reflections written in Zhao Jin's own hand—promptly causing Zhao Yuechan to lose interest. Unexpectedly, Zhao Gang inadvertently discovered these sheets of letter paper, and the two of them instantly treated them like priceless treasures, plotting to make use of them. Upon returning to the Dai family, Zhao Yuechan let slip a few hints in her speech, prompting Dai Qing to immediately set his sights on the matter. Who could have anticipated that before this plot could succeed, Zhao Yuechan discovered Dai Qing's intention to murder her, causing her to flee in panic that very night and ultimately run into Xianglan and the others.

Lin Jinlou quietly opened his eyes. In truth, he had already woken up when Xianglan propped Zhao Yuechan beside him, but he had merely feigned sleep. Tilting his head slightly, he saw Xianglan with her back turned to him, holding several sheets of paper in her hand. With his exceptional eyesight, he clearly read everything written on the letter paper, and at last, it dawned on him why the spy captured in the estate had claimed to be sent by the Dai family. Lightning-fast thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, filling him with a freezing chill and bursting into a cold sweat. His entire heart felt as though it were gripped in a deathly vice, aching even more intensely than the wound on his chest, choking the breath from him and driving him to the verge of suffocation. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as a myriad of emotions surged into his heart, momentarily leaving him as bewildered as a condemned criminal awaiting execution at the noon hour in the marketplace—exceptionally agonizing. He forced his gaze away to look at Xianglan, only to see her back completely motionless, like an old monk in deep meditation.

Time seemed to freeze. Inside Lin Jinlou's heart, waves crashed like a churning river, every thought battering him into a state of limp powerlessness. With something so lethal resting in Xianglan's hands, what if she used it to leave him? After all, she harbored such a persistent desire to escape the Lin family, and after enduring this immense disaster, the debt of gratitude she owed him had long since grown heavy beyond measure. Such a delicate, tearful, and occasionally timid woman time and again performed deeds that made him look at her with new eyes, actually making him feel small and humble, which in turn stirred a sense of shame and admiration toward her—a feeling he had never tasted in his entire life. If she wanted to leave, what face would he have left to coerce or threaten her?

Xianglan suddenly buried her face in her knees, her shoulders heaving with sobs as she desperately choked back her tears. A moment later, she raised her arm to wipe her face. Lin Jinlou stared fixedly at her, his hands involuntarily trembling slightly, when he heard two tearing sounds. Xianglan actually ripped those sheets of letter paper in half, then tore them into even smaller pieces, before rising to her feet and walking over to the lakeside. She tossed the shredded paper into the ice hole that Zhao Yuechan had smashed when she fell into the water, watching in silence as the icy water dissolved the ink on the paper into murky blots, ultimately blurring them out of existence. Not until the very last scrap of paper sank into the river did Xianglan finally turn around and walk back.

Seeing Xianglan return empty-handed, Lin Jinlou felt a breath of relief escape him, but immediately afterward, an even heavier stone struck his heart with a vicious blow. It felt as though he heard a sharp crack, and something inside him shattered. His throat turned dry and his eyes stung; quietly turning his face away, a tear rolled down the corner of his eye, landing on the heavy fur garment beneath him and leaving a circular water stain.

Xianglan dragged Zhao Yuechan's corpse to the side, looked at her face, and after a long silence said, "The heavy gift you left me—I just tore it up. Let's pretend this matter never happened... I feel neither hatred nor disgust toward you. If I survive, I will surely return to collect your remains. Go well." With that, she covered Zhao Yuechan's head and face with her wet cloak.

A vicious and selfish woman whose dying words were nevertheless benevolent. Xianglan stood beside Zhao Yuechan's corpse, pressed her palms together, and chanted a passage of scripture. Suddenly hearing a cough and knowing Lin Jinlou had awakened, she hurried to turn around, bent down, and asked, "Eldest Master, how are you feeling?" She went to clasp Lin Jinlou's hand, only to find it ice-cold.

Lin Jinlou coughed twice more and lifted his eyelids. He saw that Xianglan's hair was disheveled and her face still badly swollen; because she had just finished crying, the biting wind had turned her skin red and purple, and her eyes looked like walnuts. He paused, staring at Xianglan over and over again as if he could never get enough. Just then, a wave of sharp pain struck, wracking him with a spasm. Gritting his teeth to suppress a groan, he labored to say, "In the left-hand lattice rack of the study in Jinling, there is a huanghuali wooden box. The key to the lock is inside the blue-and-white porcelain jar beside the desk... There are more than a dozen land deeds and property titles in that box..."

Xianglan dazedly asked, "Eldest Master, what are you talking about?"

Lin Jinlou trembled violently. A moment ago, while his eyes were closed, his consciousness had felt tenuous and drifting, as if his entire body were a lone skiff tossed upon gigantic waves. Rising and sinking through several troughs, he had fully believed he was dead; yet upon opening his eyes, he saw he was still alive. Fearing that if he did not speak now, he might drift off into an eternal sleep, he shook his head with difficulty and said, "Listen to me... Those property deeds are for... for you..."

Xianglan's tears spilled over as she gripped Lin Jinlou's hand, choking out, "I won't listen. Who cares about your broken houses and lands..."

Lin Jinlou forced a helpless smile. "Indeed... Whatever Master gives you, noble or humble, you care nothing for..."

Xianglan wiped her tears and said, "I only want you to be well."

Lin Jinlou abruptly fell silent. He stared at Xianglan's lowered face for a long time. He could not decipher the expression in her eyes; her gaze, deep as twin pools of water, flickered with an inscrutable luster—simultaneously filled with tender profundity, sorrow, and precious warmth, brilliant as the stars. He could not understand the profound meaning within it, for no one had ever looked at him that way before.

He was at a complete loss, and just as he was about to speak, Xianglan suddenly pressed a finger to his lips and whispered, "Hush, I hear horse hooves." With that, she stood up, gently parted the reeds to look around, and saw a troop of imperial soldiers galloping down the mountain from afar. Leading them was a towering steed carrying a figure draped in a dark sable cloak—majestic and imposing, who could it be if not Yuan Shaoren?

Xianglan was instantly overjoyed and lowered her head to tell Lin Jinlou, "It's the Marquis of Yongchang!" Simultaneously gathering her skirts, she broke into a sprint toward the outside, calling out, "Marquis! Marquis! Come quickly and save General Lin!" Because she was running in such a rush, she tripped and fell to the ground, but heedless of the pain, she scrambled back up and dashed toward Yuan Shaoren.

Catching sight of someone shouting and bursting out from the reeds out of nowhere, the men all raised their weapons. Yuan Shaoren reined in his horse, recognizing Xianglan once she drew closer. He hurriedly swung his leg out of the stirrup to dismount, and upon seeing Xianglan's face, could not conceal his profound shock as he cried, "Lady Xianglan, what happened to you...?" Then he asked anxiously, "Where is Yingyang?"

Xianglan led the group into the reed thicket. Seeing Lin Jinlou in such a state, Yuan Shaoren furrowed his brows deeply, undisguised worry spilling from his features. Fortunately, a village was located nearby, so he hastily ordered his men to find a donkey cart and carry Lin Jinlou aboard. Lin Jinlou motioned Xianglan away and weakly beckoned Yuan Shaoren to come closer. "Old Yuan, you and I are brothers of life and death; I trust your character," Lin Jinlou said in a hoarse, raspy voice, trembling uncontrollably from the cold and his spasms as he wheezed, "If I—and I mean if I... if she wishes to leave the Lin family, let her go... Take good care of her..."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting!"

Lin Jinlou stared at Yuan Shaoren as his eyelids began to droop, yet he forced them open again. Yuan Shaoren looked at Lin Jinlou for a moment, understanding in his heart that Lin Jinlou's injuries were dangerously severe and that misfortune might well befall him. Should that happen, if Xianglan lost her backing, her circumstances would surely become perilous. Yuan Shaoren spoke softly, "Rest assured."

Having secured that promise, Lin Jinlou finally closed his eyes and plunged into the darkness.

Yuan Shaoren transported Lin Jinlou to the estate of a prominent family in the village. A physician was promptly summoned to examine Lin Jinlou, but after checking him over, the doctor shook his head repeatedly and said, "This man's injuries are terribly grave. I am merely a country doctor and dare not presume to treat this general." He could only prescribe a restorative herbal decoction. With no other options, the group had no choice but to force-feed Lin Jinlou a bowl of ginseng soup and spoon some rice gruel into him. Yuan Shaoren told Xianglan, "We are very close to the capital now, but there are still stray bandits roaming free, and I am deeply uneasy leaving the two of you here. Furthermore, we cannot find a good doctor or rare medicinal herbs around these parts. We might as well return to the capital."

Matters having reached this stage with no alternative, Xianglan could only agree, especially since they were indeed very close to the capital. After the span of two cups of tea, they reached the city gates. Servants of the Lin family who had already received word were waiting there, rushing out to welcome them home with every honor. Three imperial physicians were already waiting within the manor, and the moment everyone carried Lin Jinlou down from the carriage, Qin Shi caught sight of her eldest son's condition and broke down in tears, frantically bustling about to have him carried indoors.