Against the Current - Chapter 39

Chapter 39 - Rewards

Qinglan was resting quietly on her bed, draped with light, soft embroidered grass-patterned bed curtains hanging from a peony-carved, multi-step wooden platform bed, while a wisp of soothing Suhe agarwood burned within a lotus-shaped censer. Treading lightly, Chunling walked over to the wardrobe, opened the doors, and spoke in a low voice to Xianglan, "From now on, all of the Mistress's clothing and needlework will be under your charge. Everything in this wardrobe is seasonal attire: the top layer holds padded jackets and gowns, the middle layer holds long waistcoats (beizi), and the bottom layer holds skirts. Autumn and winter clothes are all stored in the camphor-wood chest." With that, she opened the chest and pointed them out one by one, explaining which were fur-lined, which were brocade, which were for everyday wear, which were for receiving guests, and which were meant for paying respects to the Madam and the Eldest Mistress, alongside various top-quality bolts of fabric and other items too numerous to list individually.

Xianglan nodded and memorized every single detail.

Chunling took a large wooden tray from the wardrobe containing two folded piles of garments and said, "These are clothes rewarded by Mistress Lan, made just last year. Although they are semi-new, they have already been laundered and are perfectly clean. There is one set each for Xiaojuan and Yindie."

Inspecting the garments, Xianglan saw a set of silvery-white plain satin skirt and tunic trimmed with cold-blue piping, as well as a cinnamon-colored beizi skirt set. The clothes featured several embroidered sections and still looked very new, crafted from top-quality fabrics. Because of their plain, understated colors, they were perfectly suited to be worn during the mourning period for the late Old Mistress.

Before long, Chunling brought out another tray holding two porcelain dishes filled with various pieces of jewelry, giving one portion each to Xiaojuan and Yindie. She explained, "These are also rewards from Mistress Lan. She said brightly colored flowers and ornaments should wait until the mourning period ends before wearing them." Xianglan saw that one of the dishes contained two red velvet palace flowers, two blue velvet palace flowers, a silver-plated hairpin, a crystal-inlaid silver hairpin, a pair of silver bracelets, a pair of jade bracelets, and a pair of dark green jade earrings. The other tray followed the exact same allocation, though the styles of the hairpins and earrings differed slightly.

Chunling smiled softly and said, "Since you are a second-class maid, you are naturally different from them. The Mistress instructed me to prepare something special just for you." With that, she retrieved another set consisting of a cream-colored bordered, teal-green winter-plum dark-patterned satin front-opening beizi, a dark-blue gold-threaded jacquard satin cross-collar long gown that was practically brand new, four yarn-woven flowers, two old silver hairpins, a small agate-inlaid gold hairpin, a pair of jade bracelets, a pair of extremely slender ivory bracelets, and a pair of coral earrings.

Chunling thought to herself: I heard Xianglan's family background is ordinary, and she used to serve under Cao Lihuan, so she surely hasn't seen many fine things. Now that she's seeing such a generous reward from the Mistress, her eyes will probably pop out in shock. Yet she noticed that Xianglan merely took a look, reached out to feel the fabric of the clothes, and while maintaining a smile, showed no sign of being overwhelmed with ecstatic joy. Instead, Xianglan remarked, "The Mistress really knows how to pamper people. Once she wakes up later, I must go over and properly thank her for these rewards."

Taken aback for a moment, Chunling smiled and said, "You are certainly clever and warm-natured. I am sixteen this year, which makes me older than you, so I'll boldly call myself your elder sister. In the future, we sisters must get along well with each other."

Xianglan smiled and agreed. After exchanging a few cheerful words, the two of them carried the trays back into the room and handed out the items to Xiaojuan and Yindie. Overjoyed, Xiaojuan immediately slipped the bracelets onto her wrists. Xianglan also sat down on her bed to inspect her own share, carefully folding the clothes and examining each piece of jewelry closely. She thought to herself: Mother has never had any jewelry. If I tuck these few pieces away and bring them home for her to wear, she'll surely be delighted. It's just a pity the clothes are a bit too small; otherwise, I could have brought them back for her to wear as well. Ah, ever since entering the mansion, I've only managed to go home to visit once. In the future, whenever I get the chance, I'll ask for leave to go home and check on them. Father and Mother will surely be thrilled to hear I've been promoted to second-class... As these thoughts drifted through her mind, she mused aloud, "Mistress Lan is truly generous. She showered us with so many things the moment we arrived, which shows she is an easy person to get along with."

Yindie was also sitting on her bed inspecting her newly rewarded items. Seeing that Chunling had left, she sneered, "What is this supposed to be? My cousin works in Miss Ling's quarters, where the rewards handed down are all real gold and silver, pearls and jade. Not only is the fabric of their clothes top-tier, but even the embroidered patterns on them are brand new. Don't be so narrow-minded as to treat this paltry reward like some immense grace. Last time, my cousin received a gold ring rewarded by Miss Qian, and the embedded gemstone was as big as a soybean. My cousin merely glanced at it and handed it to me casually just to play with. Compared to that ring, the things we were rewarded with today are practically scrap metal." With that, she wandered over to Xiaojuan's side to inspect her rewards, feeling dissatisfied upon noticing that the clothes given to Xianglan were superior to her own, that Xianglan's palace flowers looked newer, that the crystal on Xianglan's hairpin appeared clearer, and that the luster of Xianglan's jade earrings seemed more translucent.

When she strolled over to Xianglan's side and saw the hairpins, rings, and bracelets spread out across Xianglan's bed, her eyes widened in shock and she blurted out, "How come they gave you so much more!" Jealousy immediately welled up inside her. Figuring that Xianglan had no one to rely on and possessed a gentle, delicate appearance that made her easy to push around, Yindie demanded, "I like those coral earrings of yours. Since you don't even have pierced ears anyway, you might as well give them to me."

Xianglan froze in surprise, but Xiaojuan hopped down from her bed and snapped, "Oh really? Then why don't you trade your pair of silver bracelets plus that jade earring with Xianglan for them?"

Displeased, Yindie retorted, "I was talking to Xianglan. What business is it of yours?"

Sitting down beside Xianglan and swinging her legs, Xiaojuan replied, "You're thick-skinned enough to go around demanding things from people the moment you see them. I didn't like the look of it, so I decided to speak up. What are you going to do about it?"

"You—"

Giving Xiaojuan a gentle tug and glancing at Yindie, Xianglan said, "I'm planning to bring these earrings back for my mother to wear. Since your cousin gets so many real gold and silver pieces of jewelry from Miss Ling's quarters, you should just ask her for an even better one to play with." With that, she packed away her clothes and jewelry, pulled the storage box out from under the bed, locked the items safely inside, and turned to Xiaojuan. "Didn't Chunling ask you to embroider a handkerchief earlier? Do you want me to help you sketch out a pattern?"

Stomping her foot in frustration, Yindie muttered, "Such petty, small-town stinginess. Keep them if you love them so much, I didn't even want them anyway!" With a huff, she sat back down on her own bed with a sulky expression.

At that moment, Chunling re-entered the room. Rolling her eyes craftily, Yindie immediately tattled, "Elder Sister Chunling, what is Xianglan up to? Did you forget to assign her any tasks? And why did she get more rewards than the rest of us?"

Giving Yindie a cold glance, Chunling replied flatly, "Xianglan is a second-class maid, so she is naturally different from the two of you. From now on, she is in charge of the Mistress's clothing and needlework. Once you finish making the sachet, you can bring it for her to inspect."

Stunned into speechlessness, Yindie inwardly regretted misjudging the situation. She had assumed Xianglan was a pushover, only to find out that Xianglan ranked higher than her. If Xianglan decided to trip her up or make things difficult for her in the future, it would spell disaster, so she resolved to butter Xianglan up properly from now on. Upon hearing that Xianglan had been promoted to second-class, Xiaojuan felt a momentary ripple of self-consciousness, but she was ultimately thrilled for Xianglan and gave her a playful wink. The corners of Xianglan's mouth curved upward as she secretly winked back at Xiaojuan.

When the room was finally clear of everyone else, Xiaojuan leaned in close and whispered to Xianglan, "How did you end up coming over to Mistress Lan's place... I heard Mistress Huan was driven out of the mansion by the Madam. Is that true? What kind of trouble did Mistress Huan cause to get chased away?"

Catching sight of Xiaojuan blinking her big, eager eyes with a thirst for knowledge, Xianglan let out a chuckle, tapped Xiaojuan lightly on the forehead, and said, "You're so slow at embroidering your handkerchief, yet you've got all this energy when it comes to gossiping."

Clutching Xianglan's arm with a cheeky grin, Xiaojuan pleaded, "Oh, be a dear and tell me! Please tell me!" Raising three fingers, she swore, "I promise I'll never breathe a word to anyone else."

Unable to shake off Xiaojuan's pestering, Xianglan had no choice but to say, "I don't know the exact details myself, but she managed to anger both the Old Mistress and the Madam, which is why she was sent packing. In the future, talk less about this kind of business so it doesn't wind up reaching the Madam's ears."

Xiaojuan looked deeply unsatisfied with this answer, shaking Xianglan's arm and continuing to whine, but Xianglan quickly steered the conversation elsewhere by asking, "I came here because Mistress Huan left and Mistress Lan's quarters were short-handed. What about you? You originally served in the Eldest Mistress's quarters, so how did you end up coming over to serve here too?"

Counting on her fingers, Xiaojuan explained, "There were originally three maids in the Mistress's quarters: one caught an illness and was sent home for fear of passing the contagion; another took a bad fall off the steps and went home to recover; and the third lost her father and had to go home to observe a period of mourning. Since Mistress Lan is expecting, the masters worried that mourning rites might bring bad luck, so they wouldn't let her return either. That left the east wing short-handed. Plenty of maids had their eyes on the spot, and it wouldn't have normally fallen to me, but after the Eldest Master made a casual inquiry, I ended up being transferred here." Looking delighted, she continued, "This just shows we are destined to be together! Living under the same roof from now on couldn't possibly be better. If only Elder Sister Tinglan could come too." Glancing toward Yindie's bed, she sighed, "Who would've thought we'd end up sharing a room with this troublemaker."

Sitting at the long table, Xianglan helped Xiaojuan carefully trace out the floral pattern and advised, "In the future, just give her less of your attention, and avoid getting into any bitter feuds so things don't look awkward for either side."

Pouting, Xiaojuan muttered, "She's the one going out of her way to pick fights. I try to avoid her whenever I can. She used to serve Elder Sister Chunyan, and her former mistress was already a thorn in everyone's side, but Yindie is a hundred times more prickly. Living with her is going to be a trial."

Just as she was speaking, Yindie walked back into the room, causing Xiaojuan to snap her mouth shut.

That evening, after finishing her washing and grooming early, Xianglan lowered her bed curtains and climbed into bed to rest, while Xiaojuan and Yindie were still washing their faces and removing their makeup. Xianglan took out the sachet Madam Qin had rewarded her with and, using the dim candlelight filtering through the curtains, tipped the contents into her palm. She saw four small gold ingots, a pair of gold clove-shaped earrings, and a gold-inlaid jade ring.

Turning each item over in her hands, Xianglan felt a wave of profound emotion. Back in the Shen family during her past life, whenever holidays or festivals rolled around, the head mistress would bring out several packets of loose gold and silver, melt them down, and have craftsmen forge them into various kinds of ingots—some shaped like ruyi sceptres, some like peonies, some like begonias, some like Wenchang scholar's brushes, and others engraved with auspicious characters representing fortune, prosperity, longevity, and joy. Ranging from large to small, they would fill several large trays to the brim, glittering in bright gold and silver. At the time, when she received them to give away as gifts or dispense as tips, she had thought nothing of it.

Now, having experienced the hardships of life, she truly understood the importance of cherishing one's blessings.

Putting the items back into the sachet and tucking them away securely, Xianglan pulled the soft lotus-patterned quilt a bit higher. Suddenly, she felt as though her future was growing bright once again, and breathing in the fresh fragrance drifting from the sachet by her pillow, she drifted off into a sweet sleep.