Against the Current - Chapter 330
Chapter 330 - Handling (Part 1)
Once Madam Wang had entered the side room, although the group stopped arguing, they still harbored deep resentment in their hearts, with Su Meiru standing out the most among them. Seeing Li Miaozhi, Lin Dongqi, and the others deliberately exchanging smiles and steering the conversation elsewhere—for a moment discussing which official's wife had been blessed with a precious son, the next moment talking about which mother-in-law and daughter-in-law got along harmoniously, and then shifting to which youngest son had passed the imperial examinations, thereby covering up the preceding incident—Jiang Xiyun sat in the official's hat chair against the wall, wearing a smile and chiming in with remarks from time to time, putting on a completely nonchalant appearance.
Su Meiru could not help but sneer inwardly, thinking to herself, That little hussy is having pleasant daydreams right now, thinking she can bully me the way she did Chen Xianglan, plotting against me behind my back and making me lose face. If I don't let out this pent-up anger today, I'll write the three characters of my name, Su Meiru, backward! At worst, I'll cast all shame aside and let everyone lose face together. If she truly angers your mistress, I'll reward you with a few resounding slaps right across the face. In any case, I'm carrying a child, so what can the Lin family possibly do to me? Having reached this thought, she lowered her head for a moment, and when she raised it again, her eyes were already brimming with sparkling tears. Wiping her tears with a handkerchief, she choked out to Madam Wang, "...Madam, I have something pent up in my chest that I truly cannot keep hidden any longer, and I beg Madam to punish me!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the room instantly fell silent.
Madam Wang loathed Su Meiru as if she were a plague, but her nature was weak, and since they were in front of everyone else, she had to maintain the appearance of a virtuous matron. She had no choice but to ask with strained patience, "What is it?"
With tear-blurred eyes, Su Meiru sobbed, "Just now, before Madam arrived, I was talking with the several mistresses and young ladies about Old Madam's missing bracelet. Perhaps I am foolish, and being straightforward and honest by nature, I don't know how to choose my words carefully. A few unintended remarks ended up offending Miss Xi. Miss Xi stared right into my face and called me to account. I... I even apologized and asked her not to take it to heart, but who would have thought, who would have thought..." Su Meiru abruptly dropped to her knees on the ground, crawled forward a few paces with her cheeks covered in tears, and wept so pitifully like pear blossoms drenched in rain as she said, "Who would have thought that Miss Xi would actually bring up the household of Lord Jia, the Minister of War, taking a father's concubine, and then claimed that the men of the Lin family 'as a group' are blessed because they took me as a concubine." She stepped forward to grab Madam Wang's legs, shaking them incessantly while crying in a voice drained of strength, "Madam! Madam! You are a sensible person; naturally you understand what the men of the Lin family 'as a group' implies! What kind of malicious intent is that?! Ever since I was born, I've had a lowly and cheap fate, so letting people spit on me and curse me is one thing, but because of me, you have been made to look disgraceful, sir has been made to look disgraceful, and the entire Lin family has been disgraced! I, I... I beg Madam to grant me death!"
Such a speech left everyone in the room utterly dumbfounded. Lin Dongxiu glanced at Li Miaozhi, finally understanding why Li Miaozhi had remarked that Madam Wang was constantly squeezed out by a mere concubine—Su Meiru could twist black into white with such fluent articulation and was entirely shameless enough to cast away all dignity. Lin Dongxiu feigned covering her mouth with her handkerchief, but was actually concealing the corners of her lips in a secret smile, thinking to herself, This Su Meiru is truly no simple character. In any case, she lost her reputation long ago, whereas Jiang Xiyun is still vaguely trying to preserve her modesty as an unwed maiden. As the saying goes, 'the barefoot are not afraid of wearing shoes.' Since she is airing all this out just to find some personal gratification for herself, I'd love to see how these two women tear into each other. Jiang Xiyun's complexion turned as white as a sheet. She had originally thought it was merely an ordinary verbal dispute, never expecting Su Meiru to be so aggressive and seize upon her words to expose everything in the open.
Madam Wang stood frozen on the spot. Seeing that the situation was turning ugly, Li Miaozhi hurriedly went forward to pull and tug at Su Meiru, saying only, "Third Aunt, please get up quickly. You are a person in your condition, and the ground is cold. Just now, in the heat of the argument, the words simply carried us away."
Su Meiru shook off Li Miaozhi's arm, grabbed Madam Wang's legs once more, and wailed loudly, "I was brought in through a proper banquet hosted by the master, with the matchmaker's three letters and six etiquettes, establishing proper status, carried in through the small sedan chair! The mouths of people across the entire world are venomous to the extreme, ruthlessly driving a weak woman like me into a dead end. Those who don't know the truth might even think that you, Madam, are not virtuous and allow casual outsiders to come and treat me with contempt! What is being lost here is the face of our branch of the family! What is being lost is the face of the entire Lin family!"
Yet Madam Wang, who had ignored everything else until now, listened to these words and stood dazed for a long moment without being able to utter a syllable. Then, suddenly leaning backward with her eyes closed, she fainted dead away. Everyone in the room was thrown into a panic, rushing forward to support and steady her, while others pinched her philtrum and massaged her chest. Su Meiru began to weep even more vehemently, standing up to grab Jiang Xiyun and declaring they should die together, which frightened the crowd of maidservants and older women into rushing forward to dissuade them. The room instantly descended into complete chaos. Only Lin Dongxiu felt a sense of perverse satisfaction; she feigned an attempt to pull Su Meiru away but exerted no actual force, one hand covering her smile as she remarked, "Oh my, oh my, everyone stop already! Didn't you see that Second Aunt has fallen ill from all this commotion?"
Amidst the frantic rush, Lin Dongqi found herself unable to comfort one person or pull back another; while dispatching someone to summon Madam Qin, she hurried over toward the Old Master's quarters.
Over there, when Lin Zhaoxiang heard that trouble had broken out, he sat as steady as a bell, completely unshakeable, and asked Lin Dongqi, "What has happened?"
With no other choice, Lin Dongqi had to recount the entire sequence of events from beginning to end. Lin Zhaoxiang's expression darkened for a moment, but it quickly returned to a calm, unruffled surface. Leaning on his cane, he stood up and said to Lin Jinyuan, "Keep kneeling, and you are not allowed to get up!" Then, turning to Xianglan, he instructed, "Come with me." With that, supported by Ruizhu, he walked over to the window of the side room and concealed his figure, peering inward through the open gap. He saw that Madam Wang had already regained consciousness, her face deathly pale, while Amber was using a spoon to feed her ginger soup a spoonful at a time. On the other side, Su Meiru was still clutching Jiang Xiyun while the crowd of maids and matrons tried to mediate.
Seeing that Madam Wang had come to, Li Miaozhi felt a wave of relief wash over her. Glancing around and seeing that the farce had completely gotten out of hand, she furrowed her brows, raised her voice, and barked, "Stop this! All of you, stop right now!" Everyone turned to look at her. With a stern and majestic expression, Li Miaozhi swept her gaze across the room. Before she could even speak, she saw that Su Meiru completely ignored her authority, throwing herself once more against Jiang Xiyun and wailing endlessly. Annoyed, Li Miaozhi commanded the maids and matrons to her left and right, "Your姨娘 (concubine) is tired. Help her back to her rooms to rest at once!" The servants immediately stepped forward to forcibly pull Su Meiru away.
Su Meiru clamped her hands onto Jiang Xiyun and refused to let go, tears still clinging to her cheeks as she shouted, "I am a woman carrying a child! Who dares touch me? If the child is lost, who can bear the responsibility? Everyone present today—whoever touches a single finger of mine, I will remember it clearly and report it directly to the Second Master, begging him to administer justice!" This declaration was filled with a murderous aura, surpassing Li Miaozhi's presence by a good two parts. Knowing how much value Lin Changmin placed on Su Meiru, the crowd of maids and matrons exchanged glances, pulling back their hands in hesitation and daring not step forward, casting only nervous looks toward Li Miaozhi.
Li Miaozhi gnashed her teeth in pure hatred. As a newly wedded bride whose foundation was not yet firm, she harbored a healthy wariness toward Su Meiru; moreover, this woman was cunning and deceitful, and if things went wrong and she managed to pin the blame on her, the loss would truly outweigh the gain. While she hesitated in deep thought, she saw Su Meiru wearing a mocking expression as she sneered, "Miss Xi hasn't given an explanation or accounting for those words she spoke earlier, so why is everyone suddenly telling me to go rest? I am not tired at all; in fact, I am wide awake! Second Young Madam should not play favorites either; everyone knows you are on exceptionally close terms with Miss Xi. Now that this concerns the face of the Lin family, could it be that Second Young Madam's elbows are bending outward?" As she spoke, she shot a pointed look at Lin Dongwan.
Li Miaozhi's face flushed crimson instantly. These words did indeed strike a nerve regarding her own guilty conscience; she truly detested Su Meiru and was close friends with Jiang Xiyun, so she had indeed intended to help her childhood friend out of a tight spot.
Lin Dongwan had been serving by Madam Wang's side just now. Seeing Su Meiru signal her with her eyes, she felt conflicted in her heart as well. Pondering for a moment, she thought, Now that Concubine Yin is dead, there is simply no reliable person left across the entire Lin family. Since I have already offended the other sisters, I might as well hitch my wagon to Su Meiru's vine; at least I might still reap some benefits. Thus, she chimed in, "That's right, Second Younger Sister-in-law. Concubine Su is still nursing a grievance, so right and wrong must be thoroughly debated and settled." Seeing Lin Dongxiu standing nearby, a surge of irritation welled up in her heart, and driven by a perverse impulse, she added, "One must keep a clear head about who is close and who is distant, and distinguish human sentiments properly. Don't end up like me—sisters whom I cherished dearly since childhood, only for things to go awry and turn into bitter enemies."
Hearing this, Lin Dongxiu's willow-leaf brows shot straight up in anger. She slammed her hand down onto the kang table and sneered, "What enemies or non-enemies? Fine! Since matters have reached this point, we might as well lay everything out in the open! How many extra taels of silver did you extort from me and Second Sister under the pretext of bringing in sea-cargo? You know very well in your heart! And now you're sitting here playing the pitiful victim!"
Lin Dongwan's face turned a bruised purple, and she argued defensively, "What nonsense are you spewing! I... how could I ever do such a thing..."
While the two of them were locked in a chaotic brawl, arguing incessantly, Jiang Xiyun had no desire to escalate the matter further either. Seeing that no one was paying attention to the two of them anymore, she suppressed her anger and said softly and gently to Su Meiru, "Su Meiru, I've let you pull and drag me, and I've let you hurl insults. Whatever wrongs there were should be considered balanced out. Since you've vented your anger, I'll offer you another apology, and let's call it settled."
Su Meiru let out a cold laugh. "Settled? Hmph, when you were glaring at me with hostility just now, you didn't look like you wanted to settle. Stop putting on an act here; this routine of yours is already something I threw away long ago." She moved her face close to Jiang Xiyun's, their noses almost touching, and whispered softly, "You hate me to the marrow of your bones, don't you? You're itching to tear me into a thousand pieces, aren't you? A hidden little whore putting on an air of innocent and pure kindness, when deep down inside, the heart inside your skin is filthier than anyone else's."
Jiang Xiyun's expression did not change, but fire blazed within her eyes. Knowing that the situation was now beyond redemption, she simply smiled faintly, her voice gentle and soft as she slowly replied, "Su Meiru, you are the true whore here! Having started as a Yangzhou slender horse, what else could you be if not a whore? Not only is your heart filthy, even your body is dirty and reeks to high heaven!"
The two of them were standing right by the window, and every single word of this exchange was heard clearly by Lin Zhaoxiang.
Lin Zhaoxiang's brows twitched slightly as he instructed Xianglan, "Go inside and handle this matter."
Xianglan had been standing respectfully behind Lin Zhaoxiang with lowered eyes. Hearing these words, she started in utter astonishment, pointed at herself, and wide-eyed asked, "Me?"
Lin Zhaoxiang replied, "It is you." Then, turning his head, he added, "Ruizhu, go with her. Xianglan is going in my stead."
Even as Xianglan tried to decline—having neither legitimate standing nor proper justification, how could she possibly manage this messy nest of vipers?—Ruizhu had already raised her voice and announced, "The Old Master has commanded Miss Xianglan to come!" As she spoke, she lifted the door curtain.
With no other way out, though lacking any official title or position to meddle in such affairs, she suddenly felt a heartfelt longing for Lin Jinlou. If that dark-faced tyrant were to plant himself right here, the room would instantly fall into absolute silence.
She stepped across the threshold, and Ruizhu took a step forward, announcing, "The Old Master has given Miss Xianglan instructions!" Having said that, she withdrew and stood behind Xianglan.
Everyone's gaze instantly locked onto Xianglan.