Against the Current - Chapter 311

Chapter 311 - Illness (Part 2)

To begin with, Lin Zhangmin and Su Meiru were naturally as affectionate as any couple when they first got together. After some time, however, Su Meiru gradually began to sense that something was amiss. For one thing, Lin Zhangmin was not as wealthy or powerful as she had imagined. Earlier, when Lin Jinlou used to visit her, he would give her anywhere from five taels to dozens of taels of silver at a time, to say nothing of other miscellaneous expenses. As for Lin Zhangmin, while he initially gave her one or two taels of silver a month, he soon began asking her for money under various pretexts, and back and forth, he ended up taking more from her than he gave. For another thing, now that he had successfully won her over, Lin Zhangmin discarded his former gentle and soft-spoken manner, becoming tyrannical and short-tempered, prone to cursing, smashing things, and lashing out at every turn. Furthermore, he loved to boast and exaggerate his own competence, when in truth he had very little actual ability. Su Meiru felt she had been deceived, and whenever she looked at Lin Zhangmin now, she felt only a growing resentment; yet, things having reached this stage, she had no choice but to swallow her grievance in silence. Another two months passed, and when Su Meiru realized she was pregnant, she began pressing Lin Zhangmin in every possible way to take her into the Lin family estate. How could Lin Zhangmin dare to do such a thing? He dragged his feet and procrastinated, and when pushed to the limit, he would fly into a rage, curse furiously, and storm out. Su Meiru inevitably wept bitterly each time. Sensing Lin Zhangmin's true intentions and fearing that once his affection faded he would cast her aside entirely without ever letting her cross the threshold of a prominent aristocratic family, she racked her brains until she managed to bribe Lin Zhangmin's page boy, instructing him to return and covertly spread word within the Lin family that Lin Zhangmin had secretly taken an outside mistress.

As the saying goes, "Good deeds never leave the house, but bad news travels a thousand miles." This affair not only spread throughout the entire Lin household but even leaked to the outside world. Lin Zhangmin taking a concubine would ordinarily not have been considered news at all, but the fact that the concubine he took was Lin Jinlou's former external mistress turned this romantic scandal into an explosive hornet's nest. Censor-officials were even prepared to submit memorial memorials to impeach the Lin family for lacking moral discipline, with an uncle and nephew sharing the same woman, thereby undermining public morals. The elderly head of the Lin family was so furious he nearly fainted; he was both exasperated by his grandson's reckless antics and even more outraged by his son's total disregard for human ethics and propriety. Gritting his teeth in anger, he pulled strings everywhere to smooth the matter over. He had originally intended to order Lin Zhangmin to cast the woman out, but since Su Meiru was pregnant, he had her brought into the manor, housing her in a detached set of rooms in the garden right next to the Second Master's courtyard. She was given a small courtyard accessible only through a private side gate, and under normal circumstances, Su Meiru was not even permitted to step outside. When Lady Wang learned of the matter, though she outwardly claimed nothing was amiss and put on an air of virtue—even specially assigning two little maidservants to wait upon Su Meiru—she nevertheless fell seriously ill from the blow.

Lin Zhaoxiang was flying into a rage. His original intention in coming to the capital this time was to severely discipline Lin Jinlou, but never did he expect that Lin Jinlou would end up severely injured instead, causing him to temporarily set this other matter aside. Today, however, Lin Jinting had scampered over like a happy puppy to report the news.

"I've seen Su Meiru too. She is indeed a beauty, which makes it no wonder that Big Brother took a fancy to her in the first place. She... Ouch!" Lin Jinting was halfway through his sentence when he was caught completely off guard by a kick from Lin Jinlou, nearly tumbling off the bed. Looking up, he caught Lin Jinlou glaring and signaling with his eyes, and following his gaze around, he realized that Xianglan had walked into the room.

The moment Xianglan stepped inside, Lin Jinlou quieted down. Xianglan exchanged formal greetings with Lin Jinting, walked up, leaned over to check on Lin Jinlou, touched his forehead, and said, "The doctor said you'll still be running a fever these past few days. If your body feels hot and uncomfortable, I'll wipe you down with a cool towel." Glancing at the small table, she asked, "Why haven't you taken your medicine?" Reaching out to touch the bowl, she found it already cold. She called Ling over and learned that another bowl was still warming on the little mud stove, so she instructed her to bring it in. After blowing away the steam on the surface, she said, "Hurry up and take your medicine." Raising a porcelain spoon, she scooped up a spoonful and fed it to him.

Lin Jinlou took a single sip and began to frown, but Xianglan said softly, "Drink it while it's hot so your wounds can heal. A little later I'll change your dressing for you." Lin Jinlou looked into Xianglan's eyes, said nothing more, and obediently finished the entire bowl.

Standing off to the side, Lin Jinting sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, thinking to himself, "Damn it, a moment ago he complained that Young Master here fed him too hot, but apparently this bowl isn't too hot, huh? Letting lust eclipse familial duty—you deserve to get scalded to death later!"

Having finished his medicine, Lin Jinlou turned his head to look at Lin Jinting and said, "All right, I've heard what you came to say. Now that you're done, clear out."

"Brother, your dismissal is bitterly cold-hearted..."

"Hiss, are you not leaving?"

"Fine, fine, stop glaring at me, I'm rolling, I'm rolling right now."

Just as he turned to leave, Lin Jinlou called out, "Come back!" Fixing his eyes on Lin Jinting, he warned, "Keep your mouth shut tight about this matter, you hear me?"

"Why?" Seeing Lin Jinlou looking solely at Xianglan, Lin Jinting suddenly understood a fraction of what was going on, and felt another wave of shock. Goodness gracious, he thought, could his older brother, a man of such stature, actually have fallen truly and deeply in love? Seeing Lin Jinlou turn his face to glare at him once more, Lin Jinting forced a flattering smile and backed out of the room. As he walked along the veranda, he still felt as though he were dreaming. Spotting Shuran walking by, he intercepted her and asked, "Sister Shuran, my eldest brother... is he really infatuated with Chen Xianglan?"

Shuran rolled her eyes and said, "What news is there in that? It hasn't been a secret for ages." With that, she made to walk past.

Lin Jinting still blocked her path, saying, "No, I mean—did my eldest brother genuinely give her his heart?"

Shuran paused to think before replying, "Whether he's given her his heart is not something we servants dare to chatter about casually, but Eldest Master was injured this severely, yet while talking in his delirium he cried out 'Xianglan' several times. Ever since the very first time he regained consciousness, his first words were always 'Where is Xianglan?' So you can take that for whatever it means, and figure out the truth for yourself." Having said her piece, she walked off on her own, leaving Lin Jinting standing there scratching his head.

After Xianglan fed Lin Jinlou his medicine, she also handed him fragrant tea to rinse his mouth. Because Lin Jinlou had injuries across his chest, the slightest movement caused a heart-rending, agonizing pain. Xianglan supported him, letting him lean against her, and held the spittoon before him so he could empty the tea water. Through all of this, cold sweat poured from Lin Jinlou's forehead from the pain; yet he clenched his teeth shut and did not let out a single groan.

Xianglan fetched a hand towel to wipe the sweat from his brow, then carefully untied the cloth bandages wrapped around his chest to change the medicine and dress the wounds. Inspecting the injuries on both of his shoulders, she gently applied a fresh layer of ointment. The pain caused Lin Jinlou's entire body to spasm slightly, and the bedsheets beneath him were already soaked through with cold sweat. He bit down hard on his lower lip while Ling su efficiently stepped forward to help wipe away the perspiration from his body. Feeling deeply distressed, Xianglan murmured softly, "If it hurts, just groan out loud a couple of times; it might make you feel a bit more comfortable." Lin Jinlou merely caught Xianglan's hand, turned his head to the side, buried his face in her palm, and shook his head, saying in a muffled voice, "It's nothing. Just holding my hand like this is enough." Hearing this, Xianglan moved up to the head of the bed and pulled Lin Jinlou's head into her embrace. Ling su took over, deftly finishing the bandage change before stepping away on light footsteps. Xianglan tucked the quilt over Lin Jinlou, but he continued to grip her hand tightly, reluctant to let go. He raised his head and saw that Xianglan's eyes looked moist and glistening, causing the words he wanted to speak to lodge in his throat, unable to be voiced.

Presently, Xiaojuan came in to change the scented incense sachet. Both of them remained silent in the quiet room. Once Xiaojuan departed, Lin Jinlou rested against Xianglan's bosom, enduring the pain, and asked, "Where did you go just now for such a long time?"

Xianglan replied, "The Old Master and Mistress called for me and bestowed a few items upon me. Afterward, Mistress took me to see the Old Lady. The Old Lady held my hand and talked with me for a long time, kept me in her chambers to do needlework, and rewarded me with several pieces of jewelry—hair ornaments, bracelets, earrings, and rings. They are all wonderful things."

By this time, the medicinal effects were taking hold, and Lin Jinlou yawned, growing drowsy as he muttered, "The Old Lady has no shortage of fine things; she only gave them to you because she takes a liking to you."

Xianglan answered with a soft "Mhm."

With his consciousness blurring, Lin Jinlou mumbled, "Are you hurt anywhere? You stood freezing out there in the heavy snow for so long while all the blankets and cloaks were piled on me. You're so delicate, what if you catch a chill and fall ill..." His voice gradually trailed off until it was barely audible.

Xianglan said, "I'm perfectly fine. It's just my feet that got a little cold, but I've already applied ointment." Looking down, she saw that Lin Jinlou had already fallen asleep. She sat holding him for a moment, then lowered her gaze to study his face. When asleep, Lin Jinlou lost every trace of his usual imposing domineering aura; his entire expression softened, taking on an added touch of scholarly elegance that made him look almost like a child. Carefully, Xianglan placed his head down upon the pillow and let out a quiet breath.

During her visit earlier, Old Lady Jiang had treated her with extraordinary kindness, inquiring after her well-being with solicitous concern and showering her with praise before bestowing a pile of gifts. When Xianglan presented a set of needlework she had embroidered herself, the Old Lady praised her craftsmanship without stopping. After chatting and laughing together for half a day, when Qinshi brought up the matter of her own maternal relatives, the Old Lady began to dab at her eyes with a handkerchief and sighed, "Speaking of my maternal family, it brings to mind my younger sister. She was a few years younger than me, yet she passed away before I did—all because of the misdeeds of her unfilial descendants. Poor things, her two granddaughters were also young and foolish, letting their minds be clouded so they committed a grave mistake." With that, she reached out to take Xianglan's hand and said, "Good child, I know you were wronged in all of this. From this day forward, whether you bear children or not, we will never treat you unfairly. Later on, I will make the decision and have those two come and apologize to you." Xianglan had been secretly astonished, realizing that the Jiang family women had long since apologized to her, only to hear the Old Lady continue, "And make sure Brother Lou doesn't harbor any lingering resentment either. After all, you are all family and relatives; why must things come to such a pass?"

Only then did Xianglan understand. It turned out that Old Lady Jiang had come on this visit in the role of a lobbyist. A gentle smile touched her lips as she replied, "Since the Old Lady does not disdain my humble origins and cares for me so deeply, I am truly beyond grateful. What the Old Lady says is right—we are all family, and later I will speak with the Eldest Master about it as well."

Old Lady Jiang sighed, "I only worry that stubborn boy won't listen. He hasn't missed any chances to make things difficult for the Jiang family behind the scenes, alas! Now that they've come to beg me, what else can I say?"

Xianglan could only respond with a polite smile. Had Old Lady Jiang spoken to her in this manner two or three years ago, her heart would undoubtedly have burned with indignation and resentment; but after everything she had been through, her perspective had truly grown magnanimous and serene.

That afternoon, close to the hour of lighting lanterns, Jixiang, Shuangxi, Xuening, and the others finally returned from the country estate. Upon inquiring, they learned that because men were being rounded up everywhere and the times were turbulent and chaotic, those few had been forced to wait until things quieted down somewhat before returning to the capital under the protection of government soldiers. That much goes without saying.

At dinnertime, Lin Jinlou woke up, and Xianglan spoon-fed him porridge. After taking a single bite, Lin Jinlou knitted his brows and grumbled, "My mouth could grow a bird from lack of flavor these past couple of days. It's nothing but watery slop."

Xianglan coaxed him, "You have wounds on your body and can't eat stimulating foods. The imperial physician said you can only have these."

Lin Jinlou scoffed, "Nonsense. Back on the battlefield, when I got wounded, I ate whatever was available."

Xianglan soothed him, "If you finish this bowl of porridge, I'll go check the kitchen to see if there's any braised wild mushroom soup and bring you a bowl, all right?"

Being ill and bedridden filled Lin Jinlou with a general sense of physical misery and an irritable, perverse fire, making everything around him seem grating; he had originally intended to complain and pick a fight, but hearing Xianglan speak to him in such a gentle tone made the anger inside him instantly dissipate into thin air. He quietly watched as she fed him porridge, wiped his mouth, offered him tea to rinse, unfastened the bandages to inspect his wounds, and fluttered about him attentively with soft, tender words. He suddenly felt as though this injury might actually have been worth it after all.