Against the Current - Chapter 68

Chapter 68 - The Target (Part 2)

Everyone was taken aback and hurried to crowd around, some pinching her philtrum while others rubbed her chest, while the swift-legged ones bolted out in a streak to fetch a doctor. Xianglan wanted to step forward as well, but Yindie shoved her aside with a hard bump. Xianglan was momentarily startled, only to catch Yindie shooting her a vicious glare. Xianglan laughed coldly inwardly, though she had no desire to lower herself to the likes of Yindie. Sweeping her gaze sideways, she noticed Yingshuang whispering a few instructions into Yingliu's ear, whereupon Yingliu hurried away.

Xianglan sighed. This was like a stone tossed into a lake, stirring up a thousand ripples; the demons and monsters that sprang forth from it would undoubtedly use this to brew all sorts of mischief. She was like a lone flat-bottomed boat caught amidst towering billows and roaring waves, never knowing when a crest would capsize her vessel. Yet, reflecting on it, what must come cannot be avoided; she had only one life anyway, and as long as she had not yet become Lin Jinlou's concubine, there was still room for maneuver.

With that thought, her mind grew somewhat calmer.

At that moment, a long groan was heard, and Qinglan regained consciousness. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, and Mother Wu pressed her palms together in a continuous chant of Buddhist prayers, joining several maids and matrons in hefting Qinglan haphazardly onto the bed. Chunling, playing the picture of a loyal servant, had tears brimming in her eyes as she knelt by the bedside and pleaded, "Auntie, what is wrong with you? Tell me quickly where it aches."

Qinglan's face was chalk-white, a layer of cold sweat coating her forehead. She waved a hand, turning her face toward the inside wall as two streams of clear tears traced down her cheeks. Just yesterday, she had hosted a wildly successful poetry gathering and reaped all the glory. Not only did the various mistresses shower her with unending praise, but even Madam Qin looked upon her with increasing favor—not to mention how deeply envious Zhao Yuechan, Yingge, and the others must have been. Even though she maintained a modest exterior, her heart had swelled with irrepressible triumph. Which concubine in any household had ever been as dazzling as she? Once she gave birth to a son, she would even dare to contend and match wits with the legal wife!

Yet today's events felt precisely like a heavy slap landed right across her face!

Yesterday, Lin Jinlou had clearly spoken to her with such tender, affectionate words, praising her skill in composing that verse, only to turn around and dally with her own personal maid! Every ounce of effort she poured into her displays was ultimately meant to make Lin Jinlou cherish her more and hold her in higher esteem. And now—now this was the result she received! Under the overwhelming rush of such drastic emotional extremes and blinding fury, everything went black before her eyes and she had fainted. Waking up now, she felt a profound sense of utter despair.

Mother Wu, a seasoned veteran of the inner chambers, could hardly fail to understand upon seeing Qinglan's wretched state. She said to Yingshuang, "Auntie has been far too busy these past few days and her constitution is somewhat frail; she needs quiet and rest. You ladies should take your leave first."

Yingshuang then led her people away to bid farewell. Xianglan went along to see them out, and Tinglan deliberately lagged behind. Once she saw that Yingshuang was well out of earshot, she turned around, squeezed Xianglan's hand, and whispered, "Some little sluts are sticking needles into you out of sheer jealousy—don't take it to heart. It's just that the hurdle with our master won't be easy to clear. If the Young Master truly intends to elevate you, seize the moment while his favor is fresh to quickly secure the title of concubine... You've seen what happened to Yingge and Huamei, and what about that expelled Chunyan? To linger on in such an awkward limbo merely as a bedfellow—there's no telling what wretched end awaits them. Good sister, I harbor no ill intentions..."

Xianglan felt a warmth swell in her chest. She gripped Tinglan's hand and said, "I understand. You're doing this for my own good."

Tinglan smiled and departed.

When Xianglan returned inside, she found Chunling massaging Qinglan's chest to help soothe her breath, Yindie fanning her, and Xiaojuan offering water. Bringing a basin of hot water into the room, Xianglan wrung out a steaming towel and handed it over, but Yindie chimed in with a sour, sarcastic edge, "Sister Xianglan, you're not what you used to be; you're far too precious now, we certainly couldn't dare trouble your esteemed self."

Xianglan's expression darkened. "What do you mean by that?"

Yindie shot Xianglan a sidelong glance, her tone dripping with bitterness, "Oh, no particular meaning. Just pitying you, Sister, and fearing you might overexert yourself."

Xianglan replied coldly, "If you have no particular meaning, then shut your trap! There's no place for the likes of you to speak here!"

Yindie had always relied on bullying Xianglan for her gentle disposition, never expecting her to suddenly flip the script. Abandoning the fan entirely, she crossed her arms, stood up, and sneered, "My, my! The Young Master hasn't even officially elevated you yet, and already you're putting on the airs of a concubine before us? You spent all this time putting on an act of being virtuous and dignified, but who would have thought you were actually just a—" The words "little fox-spirit" hovered on the tip of her tongue before she swallowed them back.

Xianglan let out a scoff. "Just a what? I only know that yesterday someone went scurrying all the way to the Taoran Pavilion, desperately trying to hook up with the Young Master, only to steal a chicken and lose the bait instead. When she came back, she had the mark of a heavy slap branded right across her face, too ashamed to show herself to anyone all night long, and her face is still swollen even now. Yindie, you know who I'm talking about, don't you?"

Yindie's face instantly turned the color of a pig's liver with fury. She pointed a trembling finger at Xianglan, stammering, "You... you..." and unable to squeeze out another word.

Xianglan cast a placid glance at her, thinking to herself: Yindie has long harbored designs on Lin Jinlou. There's no telling how green with envy she must be right now, and she undoubtedly would have gone running to Qinglan to stir up trouble and sow discord. Since she wanted to blacken my name, I might as well drag her down into the mud with me—we can both soak in the stench, and let's see what she can do about it.

At that moment, Chunling interjected with an indifferent tone, "Alright, both of you pipe down. Can't you see Auntie is lying right here on the bed?"

Xianglan shoved the towel into Chunling's hands, picked up the basin, and walked out, letting out a deep, heavy sigh once she reached the tea pantry.

Zhao Yuechan's very first strike had been a devastating blow, forcing her directly onto the crest of the storm. To make matters worse, Qinglan had conveniently fainted over the affair—and she was currently carrying the Lin family's heir in her womb. A matter like this could be interpreted as either grave or trivial; if mismanaged, Qinglan could claim that Xianglan had caused her internal agitation, and if Madam Qin grew furious, condemning her as a "malicious fox-spirit who used underhanded tricks to seduce the master behind the scenes and upset Auntie Qinglan's pregnancy," the punishment meted out to her would be no laughing matter.

Rushing outside, she happened to spot Mother Wu standing beneath the veranda, asking the errand boys when the doctor would arrive. Xianglan took several quick steps forward, dropped straight to her knees right before Mother Wu, and let two streams of tears spill from her eyes as she cried out, "Mother Wu, please save me!"

Mother Wu gave a start, hurriedly reaching out to support Xianglan's arm as she asked, "My child, what is the matter with you?" Pulling her to her feet, she coaxed, "Speak properly and tell me what's wrong."

Wiping away her tears, Xianglan accompanied Mother Wu into the tea pantry. Dropping to her knees once more, she threw her arms around Mother Wu's legs and sobbed, "Mother, if anything untoward happens to the Auntie, and it enrages the Master, Madam, and the Young Master, I shall be a condemned sinner. I'd be better off hanging myself with a rope to make a clean end of it..."

Mother Wu immediately understood. As she reached down to haul Xianglan up, she muttered, "I take your meaning... Rest easy, leave Madam's end of things to me."

Having secured Mother Wu's promise, Xianglan felt half her burden lifted. She smoothly rose to her feet, still letting tears course down her cheeks as she lamented, "This truly is an unmitigated disaster! To speak from the bottom of my heart to you, Mother, I never had the slightest desire for the master to elevate me. I only wanted to serve peacefully through my days and eventually receive the master's grace to be granted my freedom and live out a quiet life. Who could have foreseen such a chaotic uproar? And right in the middle of Old Madam Zeng's mourning period, to boot—causing Auntie to faint into the bargain. If word of this gets out, there's no telling how outsiders will twist and weave the tale!" Her tears fell like rolling melon seeds.

Mother Wu soothed her gently, "Good child, don't cry; Mother knows you're a good girl. Let those who love to wag their tongues wag away; at most, they'll chatter for a spell until they lose interest. Would you stop living just because of a couple of idle gossips?" Drawing her down affectionately onto a stool, she spoke knee-to-knee: "This fortune of yours is something countless people pray for in vain. In great households, even when young maids are forced to become concubines to seventy- or eighty-year-old geezers, swarms of girls fight to get the position—to say nothing of a vigorous young man in his prime. You have a blessed destiny, and our Young Master is exceptionally gifted in scholarship, striking in appearance, and formidable in martial prowess. He's an important official with boundless capability. In the days ahead, following him will bring you rich food, fine wine, and a lifetime of comfortable luxury and wealth—what could possibly be wrong with that? Never utter such nonsense as 'not wanting the master to elevate me' again; if the Young Master were to hear that, how disheartened he would be."

Hearing Mother Wu's words, Xianglan felt her heart sink further, thinking to herself: Mother Wu and I are not cut from the same cloth; from now on, I must never speak my true thoughts to her again. She could only let her tears flow as she murmured, "Blessing or no blessing, I dare not think of it. My only prayer is that this doesn't provoke the Master and Madam..."

Mother Wu reassured her once more, "Don't you worry, didn't I just say this is in my hands..."

Before she could finish her sentence, word came that the doctor had arrived. Mother Wu patted the back of Xianglan's hand, stood up, and hurried out.