Against the Current - Chapter 323
Chapter 323 - Undercurrents (Part 1)
It is said that ever since Lin Zhaoxiang saw Lin Changmin that day, he had not been feeling well and needed to rest quietly. Lin Jinlou, full of words he wished to ask, could find no suitable opening. When he thought of attending by the sickbed, Lin Zhaoxiang refused to see him altogether, keeping only Lin Jinyuan by his side to amuse him. Secretly making inquiries, Lin Jinlou learned from Geng Tonggui only that Lin Zhaoxiang's illness had been entirely brought on by Lin Changmin's anger. Lin Jinlou was inwardly astonished. It was not that he looked down upon Lin Changmin, but his second uncle possessed a deep mind yet no great capability; his ambitions were not small, but he decidedly lacked the sheer nerve to take matters upon himself. At most, he would scheme a little to take advantage of others or put some effort into women—how large of a hornet's nest could he possibly poke? Thus, he dismissed the matter from his mind.
Meanwhile, Lin Changzheng returned from Shanxi. Lin Zhaoxiang summoned him over and spoke with him for half a day, and by the afternoon, Lin Changzheng entered the palace. Because affairs of state were pressing, he was constantly on the go from dawn until dusk, and the emperor even specially commanded him to inspect the various counties on the outskirts of the capital—a trip that would last well over a month. Madame Qin, harboring anxieties in her heart, could not help but order people to prepare all sorts of items for him.
As the weather grew warmer, Old Madame Lin's birthday was fast approaching, so Madame Qin and the others discussed celebrating it. Because the family had observed a period of mourning during the New Year, the days had inevitably been rather dreary, and Lin Zhaoxiang had decreed that the birthday was not to be grandly celebrated. Instead, it would be better to simply host a family banquet so that all the relatives could rejoice together. Upon hearing this, Old Madame Lin was all the more delighted, hastily dispatching people to send invitations to Lin Dongwan, Lin Dongxiu, and the others, while also preparing to personally select a theatrical troupe. Seeing how happy the old Madame was, the rest of the household grew happy as well, bustling about to procure dishes and fruits, dispatching messages and invitations, and managing the preparations.
When the day of the birthday arrived, Bailan inevitably had to attend. Early in the morning, Xiaojuan combed her hair until it was sleek and glossy, pinning on several kinds of hair ornaments, jade pins, and kingfisher feather trinkets. Huanshan opened the chest and picked out a pomegranate-red unlined outer garment embroidered with multicolored clusters of plums, orchids, bamboos, and chrysanthemums, matched with a lustrous white plain silk pleated skirt. Once she finished dressing and grooming herself, Bailan went over to Madame Qin's courtyard, where Qiaohui led her into the side room. There, she saw Lin Dongwan, Lin Dongqi, and Lin Dongxiu seated together in a circle, chatting away, each dressed in rich silks and fine brocades. Seeing Bailan enter, they all chimed in to exchange greetings and hurriedly offered her a seat. Lin Dongxiu stepped forward to take Bailan's hand, having her sit right beside her while instructing the maidservants to serve tea. Seeing this, Xiaojuan could not help but let out a sigh. Nurse Wu pursed her lips, pulled her aside, and chuckled softly, "On such a wonderful day as this, what are you sighing for?"
Xiaojuan looked toward the room and said, "It's nothing, just feeling a bit emotional. I entered the manor alongside Sister Bailan; I know all too well how she had to endure beatings, scoldings, and grievances just to get through her days. Later on, when she finally became half a mistress, it was still a fate looked down upon by others. Back then, among all these young misses, only the Second Young Miss treated her a bit kindly. Who could have foreseen that the wheel of fortune would turn, and now these very mistresses and young madams treat her with such deep respect one by one?"
Nurse Wu remarked, "Tsk, tsk! Don't blame me for boasting, but these eyes of mine are sharp. I dare not boast about much else, but as for all the various maidservants in this household, after merely glancing at them a few times and exchanging a few words, I can roughly tell what their lifelong fates will be. The moment I laid eyes on Bailan back then, I knew she was a phoenix—different from those clucking little chicks—carrying that particular bearing all over her body. Sure enough, my words came true. If you ask me, looking at how warm and attentive Eldest Young Master is toward her, her magnificent future is still ahead of her."
Inside the side room, among those present, Lin Dongwan was undoubtedly the most skilled at teasing and joking, picking up whatever idle gossip was at hand—though it was nothing more than the petty friction among the female relatives of a wealthy household. While Qi and Xiu simply chimed in with agreement, Bailan, being a clever person, gradually began to sense that something was amiss.
Midway through, Lin Dongwan needed to go check on Lin Jinxuan, so she took her leave and departed first. As soon as she left, Lin Dongxiu set down her teacup, wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, and said, "She's finally gone. To think she still had the face to sit there so long."
Lin Dongqi sighed and said, "Let it be, let it be. Drink your tea." She then went over personally to refill Lin Dongxiu's cup.
Irritated, Lin Dongxiu said, "Second Sister! She was fighting our battles for us, yet you have such a soft, pushover temperament—you're nothing like Father, nor are you like Mother; you simply deserve to be taken advantage of and bullied!" Turning her head and catching sight of Bailan, she continued, "You have no idea what fine deeds that eldest sister of ours has been up to. She came visiting around our various households, claiming that her eldest brother-in-law now holds a post in the Ministry of Revenue and that the maritime trade of smuggling and selling goods via the sea could make things convenient for our own families, urging us to invest money so that goods could be brought back from the sea. Because we thought we were all family, we figured she wouldn't let us take a loss, right? So we placed our orders and advanced the silver. Who would have guessed that when accounts were settled, the prices were identical to those of private shipping merchants outside, and some of the goods were even shoddy replacements, priced higher than what you'd find outside! She simply pocketed the extra silver for herself. I fared somewhat better because I kept my guard up and only lost a few dozen taels of silver, but Second Sister is too honest and believed everything she said, losing nearly two hundred taels in this single venture."
Lin Dongqi sighed, "Some of those goods were things I was supposed to bring back for the other sisters-in-law in my husband's family. When she previously came to my home and took a fancy to a piece of fabric or a jewelry item of mine, I gave them all to her, thinking that for the sake of our family ties, Eldest Sister wouldn't mark up the prices too heavily and would at least sell them cheaper than outside goods. I even told her I wanted them all for myself. To think I truly overestimated myself."
Lin Dongxiu sneered, "She told me that the place where she acquired the goods had higher prices than anywhere else, and she kept going on about how difficult it was to find such qualities and patterns, claiming people only agreed to buy them out of respect for Eldest Young Master-in-law's meager face. Little did she know, the more she tried to paint the picture, the darker it got—did she really think everyone else was a fool? What these goods were actually worth—anyone holding a supervisory post in the Ministry of Revenue could tell you with a single question. For just this paltry amount of silver, she has truly thrown all her dignity to the winds."
Lin Dongqi let out a sigh and said, "Things have already reached this point; if we were to ask about it clearly, whatever sisterly affection remains would be completely wiped out. Her husband's family is nothing more than an empty shell nowadays, and Eldest Brother-in-law is idle and useless. She is also fiercely proud, and her days are difficult as well. Now that her concubine-mother is also dead, and Second Brother is sickly and utterly unreliable, perhaps because of all these reasons, she ended up harboring other thoughts." She shook her head again and murmured, "Forget it, let it go."
Bailan smiled and said, "Second Aunt-in-law is truly a magnanimous and generous person. With such a forgiving disposition, your future blessings will be long indeed." Seeing that Lin Dongxiu still looked indignant, she advised, "As the saying goes, 'leave a thread of leeway in human relations.' In a family, if you parse every single thing too clearly, you won't be able to live together. Since you cannot bring yourself to ask openly, it's better not to dwell on this matter in your heart, lest you simply invite unnecessary unhappiness." Inwardly, she sighed to herself: people living in this world nowadays are craftier than the last, and acting in such a manner completely cuts off their own future paths. Lin Dongwan traded away affection for minor gains, believing herself clever, but in reality, she was truly losing far more than she gained. At the same time, she inwardly praised Lin Dongqi for being able to consider the hardships of others even after suffering losses and grievances, concealing evil deeds without mentioning them. Though far less shrewd and capable than Madame Qin, Lin Dongqi's demeanor in conducting herself and dealing with others carried a greater sense of grace than Madame Qin's.
Lin Dongxiu pulled a long face and said, "I know all that, it's just that swallowing this breath leaves a bitter taste in my heart."
Lin Dongqi exchanged a meaningful glance with Bailan, and the two of them lifted their teacups together, smiling as they said, "Today is Old Madame's auspicious day, so let's not dwell on these matters. Drink your tea, drink your tea." After a round of idle chatter, they smoothly brushed the issue aside.
Right then, Madame Qin sent someone to summon Bailan, calling her alone into the inner parlor. Madame Qin was seated on the large brick-bed, taking Bailan's hand, first inquiring after her warmth and well-being before praising how smartly she was dressed today: "Dressing like this makes you look truly vibrant. I have a set of head ornaments that will go perfectly with this outfit of mine; later on, I'll have Hongjian fetch them for you to wear." With a smiling expression in her eyes, she added, "You are not allowed to refuse, or else I'll be cross with you."
Bailan was just about to decline when she heard these words and hurriedly smiled, saying, "It's still Madame who cherishes me." Looking into Madame Qin's eyes, she knew there had to be more to follow.
Sure enough, Madame Qin patted Bailan's hand, her expression gradually shifting into one of worry, her words hovering on the tip of her tongue. Bailan promptly asked, "Is Madame troubled by something?"
Madame Qin sighed and said, "Ah, this is truly difficult for me to put into words... It's Old Madame. She says that since today is her birthday, her own maternal family members should also be invited to join in the merriment. Yet the only ones currently remaining in the capital are the Jiang family, so Old Madame sent someone to invite the Jiang family over. I tried persuading her for half a day, but Old Madame refused to change her mind, insisting that Old Master had also given his consent. This, this, this... Ah..."
Hearing this clearly, Bailan felt a tight pang in her heart, instantly turning uneasy. She quickly steadied her focus, took a deep breath, and after a moment, said to Madame Qin, "I understand. After all, they are Old Madame's maternal family; if such deep animosity remains, Old Madame will inevitably be weighed down by it. Today is the old lady's auspicious day, so I will certainly keep the greater picture in mind. Madame, please rest assured."
Looking at Bailan's fair, delicate face, Madame Qin experienced a myriad of conflicting emotions in her heart. Old Madame's behavior was a deliberate display for outsiders to see—to mend relations between the Lin and Jiang families once more and clear away the baseless, unsavory reputations attached to the Jiang sisters—with Bailan being the sole person wronged in the process. Madame Qin asked herself: if she were in Bailan's shoes, she probably could not handle the situation with such calm composure; she would have been prepared either to comfort Bailan through weeping wails or to soothe a heart full of bitterness. Yet Bailan's current demeanor only made Madame Qin feel all the more tenderhearted toward her. Pinching Bailan's hand and turning it over and over, she repeated, "You child... Ah, you child..." and even pulled her into her embrace to give her an affectionate hug.
Out in the hallway, Xueying was standing outside the inner parlor, peeking and prying from behind the door curtain. Catching sight of her, Lulan tapped her on the shoulder and asked, "What are you doing, sneaking around like a thief?"
Startled, Xueying whipped her head around, patted her chest, and said, "You nearly scared me to death!" Raising the embroidered purse in her hand, she continued, "Our young madam forgot her purse when she came over, so I brought it here. Since she's talking with Madame, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go in. Could I trouble you to hand this over to our madam?" With that, she shoved the purse into Lulan's hands and hurried away.
Lulan muttered under her breath, "Acting all stealthy just to deliver a purse."
As soon as Xueying stepped out of the courtyard, she hurried briskly toward Youfang Hall. Lin Zhaoxiang was sitting outside on a rattan rocking chair, teasing a bird. Xueying quickly stepped forward and recounted everything that had transpired inside the room—how Madame Qin had spoken and how Bailan had responded. Observing Lin Zhaoxiang's expression, she added, "Our young madam has always been broad-minded by nature..." Lin Zhaoxiang waved a hand, causing Xueying to fall silent.
Old Madame Lin laughed from the side, saying, "My child, of all people, you are the cleverest."
Xueying flattered him, saying, "I was trained entirely by Old Madame's own hands; even if I were a fool, I'd still catch a bit of your clever aura."
Old Madame Lin chuckled, "Off you go then. Keep a sharp eye on things. If you manage this matter well, I won't treat you unfairly."
Xueying nodded repeatedly and left.
Old Madame Lin asked, "What on earth are you trying to do... Do you think she's just putting on an act, or is she truly unconcerned? If she's just pretending, her scheming is far too deep. But if she really doesn't mind, then she's simply a fool."
Lin Zhaoxiang placed the birdcage in his hand onto the small side table nearby, and leisurely replied, "Lou-geer has suffered throughout his life because of women, and now he's infatuated with this one. I cannot help but test her out for his sake. No need to ask; I know what I'm doing."