Against the Current - Chapter 40

Chapter 40 - Claiming Credit

Because Qinglan was with child, she was even excused from having to formally receive formal greetings from Zhao Yuechan. She spent her days merely strolling through the garden, doing needlework, chatting and laughing with the maids, and occasionally paying her respects to Madam Qin. She was also generous and easy to get along with, and not overly picky about food and clothing. Xianglan no longer had to endlessly embroider her wedding trousseau, perform miscellaneous sweeping chores, endure the squeezing out by Hui'er and Hairui, or listen to Cao Lihuan's sharp-tongued scoldings. Every day, she only needed to help Qinglan make baby clothes and perform light tasks like pouring tea and serving water, while also occasionally stealing half a day of leisure.

Ever since Jinlou Lin had escorted her to Zhichun Pavilion that last time, he had only come by two or three times before never returning again. Chunling said that Jinlou Lin had gone off to the military camp. "The Eldest Master always eats and sleeps alongside the common soldiers, sometimes staying in the garrison for a whole month without returning. He truly loves his soldiers like his own children." When Chunling spoke of Jinlou Lin, her face carried a look of pride tinged with hidden bashfulness. "When military affairs are pressing, he hasn't returned home for three whole months. Whenever people outside mention the 'Lin Family Soldiers,' who doesn't look up to them with respect? Don't let the fact that the Second Master's official rank is slightly higher than the Eldest Master's fool you; his prestige and reputation are nowhere near as resounding as the Eldest Master's. I heard that even the Emperor has praised our Master. Once the mourning period for the late Old Mistress is over, he will be promoted another rank and transferred to the capital to serve as a capital official."

Xianglan nodded repeatedly in agreement, casually chiming in with flattering remarks about the Eldest Master being brilliant and martial. Hearing that Jinlou Lin was going to the military for a long time and would not return, and also hearing that he was later to be transferred to the capital, she felt secretly pleased. She wished that Jinlou Lin would never return at all—just as a herb-grazing little rabbit instinctively knows the ferocity of a fierce tiger, she harbored a faint, latent dread toward Jinlou Lin.

"Once the Master enters the capital, and the Aunt gives birth to a son, given how deeply the Eldest Master cherishes the Aunt, by then she might even be able to secure a bestowed imperial title. Who would ever dare give our East Wing a cold shoulder then!" Chunling was folding clothes in her hands while chattering incessantly. "Amitabha, I just pray the Aunt can give birth to a little young master this time."

Xianglan wondered, "The Eldest Master doesn't yet have any illustrious military achievements; how could the Emperor possibly bestow an imperial title upon the Eldest Master's concubine?"

Chunling said dismissively, "How could it be impossible? Our Master's mentor is the Duke Defending the State, a renowned and celebrated great general. It's only a matter of time before the Eldest Master wins military achievements. Don't look at the fact that the Eldest Master still has Yingge and Haimei by his side; those two are merely warming-bed maids... there's no telling how long they can stay in the estate. Didn't you see how Chunyan was sent packing? Our Aunt is a legitimate concubine brought in properly through the front door in a sedan chair under Madam's decree, and she is with child. Aside from the Eldest Mistress, who will ever be able to surpass her in the future? When the Eldest Master returns to the estate, he mostly rests here in our East Wing... As for those two little hussies Yingge and Haimei, they use all sorts of tricks all day long trying to get the Eldest Master to go over there. In the future, when you see people from those two quarters, you don't need to give them any pleasant looks. Bah, shameless things!"

As Chunling spoke, her brows knitted in anger, pulling Xianglan along to share in her bitter hatred. Xianglan had no choice but to put on an expression of righteous indignation, nodding vigorously as she said, "That's right! The Eldest Master can go to whichever room he pleases. The Eldest Master loves our Aunt the most, and no matter how many tricks those others try, it's all useless!"

Feeling that Xianglan had taken the lesson to heart, Chunling patted her shoulder with satisfaction.

In truth, ever since Chunling heard that Xianglan had been personally brought over and promoted to a second-class maid by the Eldest Master, she had inevitably felt uneasy. She was originally a third-class maid by Madam Qin's side and had been assigned to Qinglan to rise to second-class, originally expecting that once Qinglan gave birth to a son, she too would bask in the glory and become a premier first-class head maid. Who could have expected Chen Xianglan to burst onto the scene out of nowhere?

Though she smiled warmly and pleasantly at Xianglan on the surface, she constantly worried that Xianglan would vie with her for face and favor before their mistress. However, after observing her over the past few days, she realized that aside from managing the needlework, Xianglan did not meddle in anything else, nor did she ask too many questions. Instead, whenever she saw a little maid struggling with heavy workloads, she would proactively step forward to help. Whenever tasks came up that offered a chance to show one's face before the mistress, she deliberately yielded them to Xianglan, yet Xianglan would always decline. Only then did Chunling set her mind at ease, deciding that Xianglan must be a fool—after all, who wouldn't want to get ahead and win more favor from their master? Her attitude toward Xianglan consequently grew even warmer.

How was Chunling to know that what Xianglan wanted least of all was to "win the master's favor"? Now that life had become a bit more comfortable, she had long been plotting to paint and earn silver. If Qinglan relied on her heavily, wouldn't she lose all her free time? With one of them striving to show off before the mistress and the other happily shirking responsibilities for peace and quiet, they managed to get along harmoniously.

Zhichun Pavilion remained wrapped in daily tranquility. Zhao Yuechan stayed cooped up in her rooms without stepping outside; Yingge also kept strictly to her quarters, only fond of standing beneath the courtyard's banana trees or in front of the rose trellis at twilight to softly sing sad spring ditties like "The Crying Cuckoo Pierces the Heart in Unbearable Grief." Xianglan figured this routine was meant to station her at the courtyard entrance and wait for Jinlou Lin's return. Haimei, on the other hand, liked to drop by the East Wing from time to time to pull Qinglan into casual chit-chat.

"That little flirt Haimei is truly thick-skinned. Even after the Aunt yawned twice, she still didn't know it was time to leave." Mother Wu said with a dark expression as she supported Qinglan into a half-reclining position against the head of the bed. She was Jinlou Lin's wet nurse, holding an extraordinary position within the Lin household. Hearing that Qinglan was pregnant, she had volunteered herself to come and serve. Originally a companion-matron from Madam Qin's maiden family, she was fiercely loyal and, having absorbed Madam Qin's influence, harbored an absolute aversion to coquettish women. Thus, she thoroughly detested the likes of Yingge and Haimei.

"She came with kind intentions to see me; I surely couldn't drive her out, could I? In any case, she can't sit for long, so just let her be." Qinglan felt drowsy and fatigued.

"The Mistress is simply too good-natured. I don't think Haimei is anything good. When the Eldest Master returns, I'll speak with him and put a stop to those little vixens coming to the East Wing to flutter around before the Mistress."

"Please don't do that. The next thing you know, the Master will think I'm meddlesome." Qinglan hurriedly opened her eyes.

Mother Wu sighed, picked up a piece of pastry from the begonia-patterned small side table by the bed, and handed it to Qinglan: "Very well, I won't say anything. The Aunt hasn't had much of an appetite these past few days; eat a piece of pastry before going to sleep."

It was a plate of jade-belt pastries, steamed with tuckahoe, lotus seeds, and coix seeds, which had the effect of regulating spleen and stomach deficiencies and invigorating vital energy. Qinglan found it sweet and delicious, prompting her to eat an extra piece. She said to Mother Wu, "As for this girl Chunling, she truly lives up to being someone trained by the Madam—she's both clever and capable, and thinks of everything for me. With her here, I save half the effort. To say nothing else, just take these pastries; seeing that I haven't been eating much these past two days, she went out of her way to make this snack. You can just see her sincerity in this."

Mother Wu froze for a moment, her brow furrowing: "Chunling said she made these pastries?"

Qinglan nodded, taking a sip of tea: "Chunling said she made them first thing this morning."

Mother Wu's brow furrowed even deeper. She had clearly seen that little girl Xianglan kneading dough and working the molds in the kitchen, churning out a steamer basket of jade-belt pastries, using chopsticks to place them into a celadon plate before letting Chunling bring them in, while even leaving two pieces each for herself and Xiaojuan. How on earth did they magically become Chunling's handiwork? After a long pause, she remarked, "These pastries were made by Xianglan..."

Qinglan was taken aback, though she didn't take it too much to heart, simply nodding and saying, "Very well then, I'll reward her later."

Mother Wu replied, "There's no rush to reward her. Just think about it, Mistress: although Chunling is capable, I feel she has too many schemes and isn't entirely honest. It's just making a pastry, yet she has to compete for this favor and misappropriate someone else's credit. Although it's a small matter, it reveals a person's character. Xiaojuan is too young and still full of childishness, while the one called Yindie has a restless air about her—I hear she's always prying into the Master's affairs. These past few days I've been watching with a cold eye, and Xianglan actually seems like an honest person. I originally thought that with her striking beauty, she might stir up trouble, but who would have thought she quietly goes about her chores every day? Not a single assigned task is done half-heartedly, she never competes for credit, nor does she care for idle drama. When Xiaojuan and Yindie squabble, she is always the one stepping in to mediate."

As Qinglan was in the midst of bringing a piece of pastry to her mouth, she paused upon hearing this, knitting her slender brows: "What is Mother implying...?"

Mother Wu said, "My point is, if the Aunt wishes to gain a firm footing in this household, how can she manage without cultivating a few trusted confidantes? You must plan for the long term. Once the mourning period for the late Old Mistress is fully up, the Eldest Master will return to the capital, and the Madam will follow along too. Once we lose this great backing, if we don't have a few devoted people by our side, I'm afraid the Aunt will end up being bullied. Xianglan is young, honest at heart, and never speaks a superfluous word; she seems like a good one."

Qinglan knitted her brows in thought for a moment, only feeling that this Xianglan was as faint and ethereal as a wisp of smoke, practically nonexistent—guarded in speech and overly cautious, largely because she was a second-class maid directly appointed by Jinlou Lin, which left Qinglan feeling slightly ill at ease and consequently reluctant to value her deeply. But thinking back on it now, she was likely just honest and disciplined. Slowly nodding, she said, "What you say is true. I'll pay closer attention to that girl."

She promptly summoned Xianglan into the room and graciously rewarded her with a silver ring engraved with a double-happiness pattern, along with a bowl of strong tea and a plate of fruit, before sending her on her way.

Xianglan was left in a daze, completely clueless as to why she had received a reward out of nowhere. Upon returning to her room and inspecting the ring closely, she saw that although the style was old, it still had some weight to it, and she thought to herself that this Aunt Lan truly was generous and kind to her subordinates. Happily, she tucked the ring away. She had originally intended to keep some of the fruit on the plate for Chunling, but then she remembered how envious Chunling was. The last time Qinglan had praised Xianglan's egg-drop soup for being exceptionally well-made and rewarded her with an extra dish at noon, Chunling's face had darkened. Afterward, Chunling had dropped hints that Xianglan needn't trouble herself too much with Aunt Lan's meals: "The Aunt is with child, and we daren't let her eat too much of other people's cooking. The next time you make something and want to give it to the Aunt, give me a heads-up first. If anything makes her sick and the Madam finds out, none of us will look good."

Now that Qinglan had rewarded her with another plate of fruit, Xianglan thought better of mentioning it and instead shared them secretly with Xiaojuan.