Against the Current - Chapter 95
Chapter 95 - Suicide
Everyone was taken aback and hurriedly rushed forward to cut Fangsi down. Her body was completely cold and stiff, clearly having been dead for quite some time. As it turned out, after crying until the middle of the night yesterday, Fangsi had begged her mother to go back and plead with Madam Song once more. However, Mother Guo had only sighed heavily and said, "Madam listens to the Young Master in everything—didn't you see that the Young Master's mind is already made up? It's all your fault, you wretched, blind, heartless beast, dragging me down along with you. Once we leave the Song family, where on earth can the two of us go? Which of our relatives can we possibly rely on?" With anger flaring up, she struck Fangsi heavily a couple of times, wailing, "I must have terrible karma to have given birth to such a brainless wretch! I told you to endure for a couple of years, but you refused to listen, utterly wasting such a wonderful position and future. No wonder the Young Master looked down on you—you're nothing more than a beggar-like, low-class beast who can never mount the stage!"
Hearing this, Fangsi wept even more shrilly. While grumbling and scolding away for a long while, Mother Guo's hands were far from idle; she packed up all the private savings she had accumulated over the years in the Song family. As for the items that were too precious to be shown in public, she sewed pockets into the lining of her clothes and kept them close to her body. Having already regarded the Song family as the place where she would spend her twilight years, her belongings were extremely numerous, totaling three massive trunks. However, carrying them out in such a manner would be far too conspicuous, so she had no choice but to pick out the most valuable and crucial items, filling just a single trunk.
Looking at the remaining items, Mother Guo felt a pang of heartache. Then, catching sight of Fangsi still weeping in the corner, her temper flared up again. She went over, slapped her a couple of times, and cursed shrilly, "You living curse! Why aren't you hurrying up and packing your things? Stop crying, stop crying—I'm not dead yet!" Pinching and twisting her, she shoved Fangsi into the inner room.
With tears streaming down her face, Fangsi opened the trunk and instantly caught sight of the uncompleted cross-collar long robe she had been making for Song Ke. Clutching the garment, she wept with a shattered heart, not daring to let Mother Guo hear. She thought to herself bitterly, "Eldest Young Master, my little lord, how could you be so utterly heartless? Now, just because of a Chen Xianglan, you treat me like dirt, desperately eager to drive me away. Did all my past affection and devotion to you truly count for nothing in the end?"
After crying for a while, she gritted her teeth and thought, "The Song family is dead set on not tolerating me, and now all my hopes have turned to nothing. Why bother going home just to face more cold looks and idle talk? Better to die a clean death; at least my soul will remain in the Song family, never truly having to leave after all!"
Rummaging through the trunks and cabinets, she pulled out a set of bright, vibrant clothes that she had always loved best and stared blankly at them for a long while. Stealing a glance from the shadows, Mother Guo saw that the boxes in the room were all opened and assumed Fangsi was busy packing, so she finally set her mind at ease and went off to rest. Fangsi washed her face, tearfully changed into the outfit, and opened her mirror case to draw her eyebrows, powder her temples, and put on a full makeup routine. Donning all of her most precious jewelry, she sat in a daze by the candlelight until the third watch of the night. Stepping outside to take a look, she saw that the lights in Mother Guo's quarters were completely extinguished, clearly indicating she was asleep.
She turned back inside, tore a white silk sash into strips, stepped onto a stool, and tied the silk ribbon to a roof beam. Thrusting her head into the loop and kicking away the stool, her body left the floor, drifting away to cross the Yellow Springs.
Early in the morning, after washing and grooming, Mother Guo came to call for the door to be opened. Pushing it open, she saw Fangsi hanging from the beam. Emitting a piercing shriek first, her legs went weak as she collapsed onto the floor and pissed herself in terror.
People rushed in to cut Fangsi down, only to find her dressed impeccably and heavily made-up, yet with her neck stretched, her eyes staring blankly, her face blue-purple, and her tongue protruding horribly—a ferocious and terrifying sight of death. Embracing the corpse, Mother Guo wailed bitterly, crying out "my flesh and blood" over and over again. One moment she wept, "With you dead, how am I supposed to go on living?!" The next moment she cried, "You disobedient child, why did you have to die out of sheer stubbornness?!"
Weeping so hard, she passed out straight away. As the others frantically pressed her philtrum and massaged her chest, Mother Guo let out a groan and regained consciousness. Turning her head to look at the corpse once more, she dissolved into another earth-shattering fit of grief.
Upon receiving the news, Madam Song hurriedly leaned on Song Tanchai's arm and came over. Seeing the miserable sight of Mother Guo hugging the corpse and wailing, tears immediately gushed from her eyes. Song Ke stepped forward quickly and said, "The manner of death is too gruesome; Mother should please return to your quarters. I will handle this matter myself."
Trembling all over, Madam Song pointed her finger—still clutching her Buddhist prayer beads—at Song Ke, tears streaming down her face as she said, "This, this is the mess you stirred up... Now that it has cost a human life, are you satisfied? Such a pitiful, clever child..." Unable to finish her words, she covered her face and wept.
Song Ke signaled with his eyes, and Song Tanchai gently coaxed and consoled Madam Song, helping her away.
Xianglan let out a silent sigh, thinking to herself that this was truly an unmerited disaster for the Song family. They hadn't just been driving Fangsi away; between offering silver, jewelry, and dress fabrics, they were practically sending off a major deity. Who could have imagined it would end with such a sickening tragedy? While she felt profound pity and regret for Fangsi, she also thought her foolish. Although Fangsi was a servant, she had never suffered any genuine hardship in the Song family, living a life more luxurious than most young misses of ordinary households. Once the benevolent masters gave her silver and sent her out to marry a reliable man, she would have had countless days of harmonious happiness ahead of her. Yet now she had thrown her life away so frivolously, leaving her elderly mother to bury her child—truly, it was far too tragic.
She wanted to step forward and help, but fearing Mother Guo would resent her presence, she quietly pulled on Song Ke's sleeve and said, "Fangsi was ultimately different from other maids. Since she died within the estate, if we don't properly handle this mourning rite, people will inevitably point fingers behind our backs and accuse us of lacking benevolence. Does the Eldest Young Master have any arrangements in mind?"
Song Ke rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, "Just handle it according to standard customs. Even though Mother favored her, she was still a servant after all, and it wouldn't be proper to overstep the rules. We can simply give Mother Guo some extra silver afterward."
Solely wishing to share Song Ke's burdens, Xianglan thought for a moment and said, "The Eldest Young Master's studies are of the utmost importance; the matters of the academy cannot be delayed."
Song Ke smiled bitterly and said, "If I don't take charge, who in this household can shoulder these responsibilities? Mother cannot be counted upon, and my sister is a sheltered young lady who shouldn't be organizing a funeral."
Xianglan said, "If you trust me, I can help you sort it out."
Hesitating, Song Ke asked, "Can you manage it?"
Xianglan smiled. "Why ever not? If I can't handle it properly, I'll come back and ask you for instructions."
Seeing Xianglan's smile shining like jade, Song Ke's previously agitated mind finally settled. He thought to himself, "The household is indeed lacking someone capable of managing things right now. Let her handle it; if it truly doesn't work out, I'm here to tidy up." Nodding in agreement, he drew a hundred taels of silver from the accounts, which is a story for another time.
Xianglan immediately set to work, selecting one of the rooms in the back row to serve as a mourning hall. She found white cloth in the storehouse to decorate the interior and exterior, and dispatched people to purchase incense, candles, paper money, various ritual items, and a coffin.
When Song Ke returned at noon, everything was already in order. He took a turn around the mourning hall and offered a stick of incense to Fangsi. Mother Guo sat blankly inside the hall, letting others manipulate her as if her mind had completely snapped.
Returning to his room, Xianglan was checking the ledger entry by entry. Seeing him arrive, she said, "Including the coffin, it cost a total of forty taels of silver. This is the itemized list—you can take a quiet look."
Song Ke glanced over it and was well satisfied. Xianglan continued, "It's just that Fangsi died in the main quarters, which is bound to leave people feeling unsettled. Since the Young Master drew one hundred taels from the accounts, we might as well use the remaining funds to replace that roof beam and hire monks to chant scriptures for her deliverance. On one hand, it will ease everyone's minds, and on the other, it will serve as comfort to Fangsi's departed spirit."
Feeling deeply uneasy himself because Fangsi had died inside his mother's chambers, Song Ke replied, "Let it be done exactly as you say." Reaching out to pull Xianglan's hand, he said, "Thanks to you this time around, a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders."
With a slight blush, Xianglan pulled her hand back. From then on, Song Ke held Xianglan in even higher regard, finding her clever and admirable—a matter left for now.
Presently, because of the summer heat, the funeral procession was held after three days of scripture chanting, with the spirit tablet temporarily placed at the Jingyue Nunnery. The funeral itself had been conducted quite lavishly. Madam Song inevitably wept through another round of mourning, and once it was over, she once again wished to keep Mother Guo behind.
Frowning, Song Ke said, "Fangsi died right here. If Mother keeps Mother Guo around, won't having her constantly face the scene bring back painful memories? It would be much better to send her to our old estate in the capital, where the Song family will naturally provide for her in her old age."
Hearing this and finding it reasonable, Madam Song sighed and gave her consent.
Meanwhile, Mother Guo was still harboring hopes that Madam Song might keep her. To her dismay, even after the funeral rites concluded, Madam Song made no move. She couldn't help sobbing to others, "An old woman like me, utterly helpless and alone, I have no idea where I can go in the future... And I truly cannot bear to leave Madam."
However, because she was now quartered in the back rooms, it was extremely difficult for her to catch a glimpse of Madam Song. Furthermore, the maid serving by Madam Song's side was now Juanhua, who—following Song Tanchai's strict orders—had locked her lips tight and warned all the little maids, ensuring that not a single shred of Mother Guo's tearful pleas ever reached inside.
With Fangsi's burial completed, Song Ke once again urged Mother Guo to hit the road. Unable to linger any longer, she took advantage of a moment when Song Ke was away to go pay her final respects to Madam Song.
Stepping into the inner courtyard, she saw Xianglan wearing a phoenix-tail skirt in shades of peach-red and pale pink, looking as fresh and radiant as dew on a flower. As her eyes danced with vitality, she was chatting with Juanhua, the two of them covering their mouths in muffled giggles.
Mother Guo's eyes turned red with bitter hatred. "If it weren't for this little vixen showing up, how could my daughter have so abruptly lost her life? Now she lives in ease and comfort, while my poor daughter died so miserably..." She projected all of her boundless venom and resentment onto Xianglan.
Out of the corner of her eye, Xianglan had already caught sight of Mother Guo entering. Noticing that she looked a decade older and haggard from the past few days, with hair completely frosted white, Xianglan felt a pang of pity. But seeing the resentful glare in Mother Guo's eyes, she was instantly startled. After a brief moment of thought, she understood, shook her head inwardly, and thought, "Those who deserve pity always have something hateful about them. If she hadn't failed to raise her properly, Fangsi wouldn't have come to this end. According to the little maids, Fangsi cried until the middle of the night that evening while her mother beat and cursed her; perhaps Fangsi's death was partly caused by her mother's physical abuse and scolding. Now that she holds a grudge against me, I cannot afford to let my guard down."
Pulling Juanhua aside and giving her a meaningful look, Juanhua turned her head and saw Mother Guo stepping onto the steps to enter the room. "Is Mother here to see Madam?" Juanhua called out. "Madam is currently chanting scriptures; allow me to announce you first." With that, she hurriedly lifted the curtain and went inside.
Raising her voice deliberately, Mother Guo called out, "Old servant is about to return to the capital, and has come here to kowtow to Madam."
Hearing her from inside the room, Madam Song hurriedly said, "Hurry, let her in!"
As mistress and servant met, tears naturally poured down their faces as they wept together. Wiping away her tears, Mother Guo sobbed, "It's all my fault. I originally came to kowtow and thank Madam for her grace, but my arrival has only brought Madam another round of tears." Trembling as she knocked her head against the floor, her voice hoarse, she continued, "No matter how deeply my heart is attached to Madam, I must leave now. There's no telling if we will ever meet again in the future, so Madam must take good care of her health... Old servant... old servant truly..." Here her voice choked with sobs.
Madam Song could no longer hold herself together, breaking down into loud weeping.
Standing outside the window and peeking inward, Xianglan muttered to herself, "This Mother Guo is truly a master manipulator, striking right at Madam's fatal weakness—she's skilled at both crying and speaking. If she manages to soften Madam's heart with just a few words, it'll spell disaster." Frowning as she pondered for a moment, she turned on her heel and slipped away quietly.