Against the Current - Chapter 342

Chapter 342 - Plotting (Part 2)

Meimi sneered coldly, "And why would it not work? Half of your current wretched plight was caused by Lin Jinlou—do you not harbor hatred? He is surrounded by pampered beauties and adoring maids day in and day out, while you are forced to live through days like this here. Has he ever spared a single thought for old times to check on you even once or twice?" She then let out a heavy sigh and continued, "Ah, speaking of us women, we truly are just like the floating duckweed sung of in theatrical plays—gathering and scattering at the whim of the wind, entirely unable to control our own fates. Sister, back then you were full of devoted affection, wholeheartedly wishing to stay by his side so that you would have a lifelong reliance. But how did it all turn out in the end? If not for him, given your talent and beauty, how could you ever have fallen into such a state? I've heard that he only has eyes for Chen Xianglan, cradling her in the palm of his hand as if she were the most precious treasure. If he had only treated you with even half of that..." As she spoke, she closely observed Su Meiru's expression, noticing her slowly grip the quilt tighter and tighter until her knuckles turned white, her complexion growing increasingly ashen as venomous malice gradually welled up in her eyes.

Meimi curved her lips into a faint smile, leaned a fraction closer, and lowered her voice even further. "The Lin Family Army consists entirely of private troops. Once he dies without an heir of his own, and with his brothers being utterly useless, while his father is merely a civil official, wouldn't everything ultimately fall into the hands of Second Master? If this plan succeeds, I, your younger sister, will help you finish off that woman of his. Then you will become the legitimate mistress, enjoying a lifetime surrounded by maids and servants of gold—wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

Su Meiru trembled all over and stared intently at her. Meimi reached out and gently smoothed the stray locks of hair from Su Meiru's temples back behind her ear, wearing an expression of utmost tenderness and speaking in a soft, gentle whisper, "My foolish older sister, think this over carefully, hmm?"

Su Meiru felt her mouth go completely dry. She licked her lips and asked, "What—what is it you intend to do?"

Meimi smiled slightly, picked up a bowl of warm broth, and fed a spoonful to Su Meiru. "You only need to convince Second Master; you don't need to worry about the rest. There are those capable of handling it."

After Meimi left, Su Meiru leaned back against the bed and stared blankly into space. She had thought she had long since forgotten—that was right, back then she had loved Lin Jinlou with all her heart, traveling thousands of miles from Yangzhou to come find and rely on him, feeling completely content just being by his side. Who could have expected him to be so utterly heartless and sever all ties completely? She wiped away her tears, thinking to herself that crying was useless and that she had to survive somehow, which was why she had chosen a different path. Yet her deep-seated hatred for Lin Jinlou had never faded; it was merely that she was too insignificant and powerless to exact revenge, forcing her to push it aside. But today, Meimi's words had ruthlessly poked at the sorest wound in her heart.

She lifted the vanity mirror once more, looked at her haggard face within the glass, let fall a single tear, and gritted her teeth. "Mother Meng, go invite Second Master over here."

A short while later, Lin Changmian arrived. Pushing open the door, he saw Su Meiru sitting at the head of the bed, her face touched up with powder to make her complexion appear slightly better, though her eyes were still swollen and she retained a sickly, delicate aura reminiscent of a frail beauty from ancient tales—even more pitiful than usual. Lin Changmian, who was deeply infatuated with her, found her allure completely irresistible the moment he laid eyes on her. He hurried to the bedside, clutched Su Meiru's hand, and affectionately called her his "darling."

Su Meiru quivered her lips and complained, "How truly cruel of you, Master, not to come check on me even once. Did you assume I was already dead? Or do you think I am worthless now that I've lost the child?"

Lin Changmian hastily pulled her into his embrace and said, "How could I not have come to check on you? It's just that the two times I came, you happened to be fast asleep. Didn't Mother Meng tell you? I'll go give her a piece of my mind later."

Su Meiru brushed away a tear and retorted, "What does this have to do with Mother Meng? If not for her, I wouldn't even have a single person to wait on me. My meals consist of leftovers, and I can't even get a sip of warm broth. No matter how many flaws I might have, I've had my good days too. How on earth did I end up reduced to this miserable state? What face do I have left to live out my days?" With that, she burst into fresh tears.

Lin Changmian hurried to wipe her tears away, cursing, "Damn it all, that thunder-struck little bastard! Later on, I'll make the cook come and kneel right before you!" He then softened his tone. "Aren't these words of yours meant to tear out my heart and liver? There is not a single thing about you that isn't wonderful. I've told you a thousand, ten thousand times: you are ten thousand times better than the old hag sitting at the head of my bed." Lin Changmian meant these words with absolute sincerity. Lin Zhaoxiang enforced family discipline with extreme strictness; although Lin Changmian also hailed from a wealthy and prominent aristocratic clan, he possessed virtually no real capability and had no money in his pockets to go out carousing and living the high life. On top of that, he was exceptionally miserly, so how could he ever bear to throw away vast sums of gold on women? As a result, the concubines he had kept in the past were merely servant girls from the estate who had died within a few years. Now, having encountered Su Meiru—who possessed peerless beauty, was exceptionally skilled at sweet-talking and flattering him, displayed boundless cleverness, and offered countless unspeakable pleasures in the bedchamber, all while devising strategies for him to rake in massive amounts of silver—Lin Changmian found himself unable to be apart from her for even a single moment, wishing he could hold her up above his head.

Su Meiru let her tears flow as she asked, "Then are you, Master, just going to stand by and watch me suffer here?"

Lin Changmian smacked his lips and replied, "It's not that I don't want to, but there's nothing to be done. My elder brother is keeping a close eye on this matter, and once he speaks up, it's not easy for me to argue back. Just bear with it a little longer; once your health recovers, I will naturally have you brought over to Jinling."

Su Meiru spat out a mouthful of air and scoffed, "Bah! You only know how to shrink back whenever trouble arises! My life and death are entirely up to me, yet you are actually content to live like this!"

Lin Changmian's face darkened. Suppressing his irritation, he said, "For your sake, I even drove my own biological daughter out of the house—are you still not satisfied? Bringing this up right now, do you expect me to drop to my knees and kowtow to you as well? You know what the situation is like at home just as well as I do; my own heart is filled with frustration too. What else would you have me do?"

Su Meiru sneered coldly, "There is currently a path that isn't frustrating at all. I just wonder if you have the courage to take it."

Lin Changmian could not help asking, "What path?"

Su Meiru leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words to him. Lin Changmian was utterly terrified, blurting out in shock, "Are you out of your mind?!"

Su Meiru said coldly, "Am I out of my mind? I'm afraid that once he goes back, he will settle all the accounts with you."

Lin Changmian frowned and said, "That won't happen. Although he is ruthless, he is also someone who protects his own. He spoke to me about this matter before, and it seemed he didn't intend to pursue it deeply."

Su Meiru pressed on, "And you're celebrating just because he won't pursue it deeply? Are you truly content to go back and live that impoverished life where everyone looks down on you?"

Lin Changmian fell silent once more, his brows tightly locked and his face as dark as the bottom of a cooking pot. Su Meiru leaned close to his ear again and whispered a few more words. Lin Changmian grew somewhat tempted, muttering softly, "Tsk, my brother really did ask me to handle a matter for him, but this... No, tsk, no..." As he spoke, he made a motion as if to stand up.

Exasperated by his lack of backbone, Su Meiru pulled him back down and whispered a few more sentences. Lin Changmian could only furrow his brow continuously, torn between temptation and terror, his expression shifting unpredictably. But that will be set aside for the moment.

Meanwhile, two days later at Changchun Hall, Lin Jinlou had finished practicing two sets of martial arts routines in the courtyard and walked inside wiping his sweat with a towel. Seeing Xianglan sitting there in a daze, he walked over and asked, "What are you daydreaming about?"

Xianglan replied, "I'm not thinking about anything."

Lin Jinlou glanced at her and said, "Whenever you have something on your mind, you always look just like this. Such a little person, yet your thoughts take up half your body weight in worries. With all this excessive fretting, you'll end up turning into a worried little old lady before you know it... You've been out of sorts these past two days. Are you still dwelling on what my father said?"

"No." Xianglan looked at Lin Jinlou and, unable to hold it back any longer, spoke her mind anyway. "I just feel that this isn't right. The two of you, father and son, have developed a rift over this matter, and I truly cannot find any peace of mind. Actually, I understand why Elder Master thinks the way he does..."

Lin Jinlou pinched Xianglan's hand to stop her from talking further, while inwardly thinking of how, just moments ago while he was practicing his boxing, Lin Jinyuan had scurried over with a shifty, rodent-like look in his eye to tell him: "Brother, don't blame me for not tipping you off beforehand. I don't know what Dad is thinking, but he has already settled on the Wei family's daughter and plans to report it to the grand patriarch. I overheard it in the study and risked my life to come warn you. You'd better remember your younger brother's loyalty!"

Lin Jinlou had long anticipated that his old man would eventually make a move, but he hadn't expected it to happen this quickly. Being forced to drink water with a cow's head shoved down—the sensation of being pushed step-by-step by others—made a raging fire burn in his chest. Yet right now, the situation was akin to two armies arrayed in battle; even if a fire were burning at his eyebrows, he could not afford to lose his composure, but must instead remain calm and collected. He looked at Xianglan. This foolish girl was still worrying herself sick over him and his father having a falling out. Why on earth was she so naive? Whenever she was bullied, she would feel aggrieved and sad for a moment, only to turn around and forget it, while always feeling she owed others so much that she couldn't even sleep in peace. He muttered inwardly to himself, yet his expression softened involuntarily as he gripped Xianglan's hand and said, "Just put your mind at ease. Didn't I tell you not to overthink things? I'll handle everything."

Xianglan managed a forced smile. Just then, someone at the doorway announced that Lin Changzheng wanted Lin Jinlou to come to the front courtyard. Lin Jinlou sneered coldly, "Master is busy and has no time."

A moment later, Yuan Shaoren could be heard laughing in the courtyard as he called out, "Eldest Master Lin has such a grand demeanor that he actually requires people to come invite him personally."

Hearing this, Lin Jinlou hurriedly stepped out, smiling as he said, "What brings you here?"

Yuan Shaoren chuckled and said, "My father-in-law entering the Grand Secretariat is now a settled matter, so today he is hosting a family banquet for a few close friends and had me come over as well. Didn't you know?"

Lin Jinlou scratched his head and said, "Don't even mention it. I've had a falling out with the old man these past two days."

"Ah?"

"Tsk, it's nothing."

"Hurry and come along. The various officials in the front hall are all looking to see you. Out of courtesy to the host, it wouldn't be proper not to go. Just go over there and show your face."

Lin Jinlou had no choice but to return inside and change into a magnificent set of formal attire. Before leaving, he instructed Xianglan, "Don't worry about a thing. Wait until I get back later, and we'll have a good talk."

Xianglan reached out to straighten his lapel and whispered a single word: "Okay."

Seeing that Lin Jinlou had departed, Xianglan sat down to read a book, but her mind remained entirely unsettled. After a short while, a maid from the Second Household arrived and said, "Our Third Young Madam invites you to come over for a moment, Miss. Today's family banquet is being hosted by the Third Young Madam in managing the household affairs, and since it's her first time, there are inevitably some shortcomings. She would like to ask you to come over and help offer an idea."

Upon hearing this, Xianglan put down her book and followed the maid. Just as they reached a secluded path, someone suddenly lunged out and viciously clamped a hand over her mouth. Xianglan was terribly shocked and began struggling frantically. Someone seized both her arms and twisted them hard backward, causing an immediate wave of excruciating pain. Just as she opened her mouth to cry out for help, a wad of cloth was stuffed into her mouth to gag her, and someone else bound her tightly from head to toe, slipped her inside a cloth sack, and hoisted her up. Terrified and panicked, she squirmed and struggled continuously, until she suddenly heard the voice of Guiyuan coming from nearby: "Brother Xing, where are you headed?" Filled with hope, she exerted herself to move, but was instantly tossed upward. With a jolt of pain, she was heavily dumped onto a carriage, and she heard someone say, "Nothing much, just a unruly maid whom the master ordered to be tied up and hauled out to be sold." Guiyuan laughed and said, "So that's how it is. Was she originally one of the attendants by Aunt Su's side?" The one called Xing gave a vague, muffled response, only saying, "I must get going. If I'm late and mess things up, Madam will scold me." Then he shouted loudly, "Bao'er, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and come over to drive the carriage!"