Against the Current - Chapter 99

Chapter 99 - Distinguished Guests

Song Ke spent the entire morning feeling groggy, as though every word and phrase spoken by the eminent scholar were merely passing like the wind past his ears. Whenever his mind wandered and he caught sight of the stationery pouch made by Xianglan, his heart would feel as though it were being pricked by a sharp knife, followed immediately by a surge of anger. He thought to himself: "Chen Xianglan, you little girl, why did you have to hand me such a difficult problem right before the autumn examinations, making it impossible for me to have even a moment or two of peace! You are merely of maidservant stock, so why on earth are you unwilling to become a concubine? Our affection is deep, and I have shown you grace—how can you bear to leave me? If I stubbornly refuse to let you go and keep you by my side, what can you possibly do?" But a moment later, his spirit would deflate, and he would think despondently: "That's right; she has both fine appearance and charm, not to mention being intelligent and quick-witted, and on top of that she is skilled in the art of painting. With such talent and learning, how could she ever willingly consent to be someone's concubine? Even if I managed to keep her here by force, what could I do if she were unwilling? Facing each other with resentment day after day would be far worse than simply never seeing each other again..."

Sitting beside him, Lin Jingting watched as Song Ke alternately glared angrily, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, and then slumped into listlessness and a gloomy frown. Unable to bear it, he kicked Song Ke and lowered his voice to ask, "Yifei, what is wrong with you today? Usually you're full of vigor in class, staring at the great scholar as if you could burn holes through him with your eyes, but today you look like a frost-bitten eggplant..." With that, he broke into a mischievous smile. "Could it be that you've contracted the sickness of lovesickness?"

Song Ke glared at Lin Jingting. Just then, the cloud-board sounded to mark the break, so he hurriedly gathered his books in a messy bundle and said, "I'm feeling a bit out of sorts today, and my head aches a little. I'm going back to lie down."

Lin Jingting hastily said, "Then hurry and have Miracle Doctor Luo come take your pulse." He then added with a cheeky grin, "If it's lovesickness, that's easy to cure. Just tell me which family's young lady it is, and I'll find a matchmaker to go propose marriage for you."

Song Ke retorted crossly, "Miracle Doctor Luo cannot cure this illness of mine, and your matchmaker can't cure this lovesickness either." With that, he strode away.

Lin Jingting had merely spoken off the cuff and utterly disbelieved that Song Ke had genuinely taken a fancy to anyone. Muttering to himself, he thought: "I don't think he's sick; he must have taken the wrong medicine today."

Song Ke instructed his page to lead his horse over, then mounted and rode home. Yet somehow, as if bewitched, he rode toward the lane behind the Song residence and came to a halt right beneath the attic where Xianglan lived, tilting his head back to gaze upward. He could only see that the small window on the attic was propped open with a stone lion as a prop, draped with a Xiangfei bamboo curtain that swayed gently in the breeze. He had no way of knowing what the person inside the window was doing—whether she was painting, doing her makeup, or working on some needlework...

His page, Shimo, observing his master's expression, thought to himself: "This is Miss Xianglan's home; could it be that the young master is missing the young lady? No wonder he's been absent-minded all day." So he lowered his voice and suggested, "Young master, shall the small one go knock on the door and ask Sister Xianglan to come out? She has been home for a few days now; this is just the right time for us to bring her back."

Song Ke shook his head. Although he longed to see Xianglan, his state of mind right now was too chaotic; if he saw Xianglan, what on earth would he say to her? Letting out a sigh, he said, "Let's go back."

Little did he know that Xianglan was hiding right behind the bamboo curtain of the small pavilion upstairs, watching him quietly. She saw that Song Ke still retained his refined, jade-like bearing, staring with yearning eyes straight at the window. A sour ache wrung her heart, but seeing that Song Ke was turning away again, she let out a silent sigh and slowly stepped back.

Song Ke turned his horse's head to head back, and noticing a tall, fair-skinned scholar walking from the opposite direction, he paid him no mind. Yet just as he neared the back gate of the Song residence, he turned his head for a final glance and was startled to see that very scholar walking right up to knock on Chen Wanquan's door!

Song Ke instantly pulled hard on the reins.

Mrs. Xue came out to answer the knock with a smile on her face, appearing extremely familiar with the scholar. The two exchanged a flurry of chatter, after which the scholar produced a wrapped package and handed it to Mrs. Xue. At first, Mrs. Xue refused to accept it, but after a round of polite demurral, she finally took it in. Following a couple more graceful words of parting, she closed the door.

Yet that scholar was unwilling to leave. Tucking his hands into his sleeves, he stood beneath the building and gazed up, staring absentmindedly for a good long while before finally turning around—only to run straight into Song Ke's fixed gaze, causing him to freeze in surprise.

This scholar was naturally none other than Xia Yun. Having obtained a jar of fine tea over the past two days, he had eagerly brought it over to Chen Wanquan as an excuse to catch a glimpse of Xianglan, only to find that Mrs. Xue hadn't even allowed him to step through the threshold, leaving him deeply disheartened. Upon turning around, however, he spotted a young gentleman sitting proudly upon a magnificent horse. The youth possessed handsome eyebrows and bright eyes, exuding an extraordinary demeanor, mounted on a date-red / chestnut horse with a small page leading the mount by the bridle—clearly someone of high birth and wealth.

Seeing that young gentleman staring intently at him with a dark, gloomy expression, Xia Yun felt a flicker of confusion, yet he watched as the young gentleman suddenly whipped his horse's head around and rode off.

Song Ke rode back to the front of the Song estate, dismounted, and entered the gates. He felt utterly depressed, his irritation mounting by an extra eight or nine parts. He could tell instantly from that scholar's look exactly what the fellow was plotting. Choked with rage to the point of breathlessness, he even had the impulse to go demand of Xianglan who that scholar was, how long she had known him, and whether she had taken a fancy to that man, which was why she was scheming to leave him.

As he strode rapidly toward the inner quarters, he noticed a carriage parked in the courtyard and asked the gatekeeper, "Who has come?"

The gatekeeper had originally intended to announce the visitors, but seeing the grim expression on Song Ke's face the moment he returned, he hadn't dared approach him. Now, hearing the question, he hastily replied, "It is the female relatives of Duke Xian's household who have come to call. The mistress said that as soon as you returned, you should go to the front hall to pay your respects to your elders."

Song Ke nodded, returned to his quarters to change into garments suitable for receiving guests, and wiped his face with a towel to prepare himself—matters which we shall temporarily set aside.

Inside the reception room, Madam Song (Aunt Song) and Lady Wei, the wife of Duke Xian, were conversing very warmly. Madam Song smiled and said, "It should have been our turn to visit your esteemed residence first; instead, you have honored me by arriving here first, Sister."

Lady Wei smiled and said, "We are all related by various distant branches and ties of kinship anyway; what difference does it make who visits whom first? We just happened to come back to look at our ancestral estate, and since we don't really know anyone else here in Jinling, and hit it off so wonderfully when we met at the Lin family residence last time—especially since our two girls get along so famously—it's only right that we visit back and forth more often."

Madam Song smiled and said, "That goes without saying."

Lady Wei continued, "Eleven or twelve years ago, when we were still in the capital, our two families also visited each other frequently. At that time, Master Song was an honored guest of our master's, and even brought the young master to our home to play. When our household's young masters and young ladies celebrated their birthdays, they would all receive examples of Master Song's calligraphy. Truly, he wrote an exceptional hand."

Madam Song sighed with melancholy and said, "Indeed, how many years have flashed past in the blink of an eye? The children have suddenly grown up, and we have all grown old. As for the master of our house..." As she spoke, moisture welled up in her eyes. Realizing that a distinguished guest was present and she ought not to give free rein to her emotions, she forced a smile and said, "Look at me, what on earth am I rambling on about this for?" She repeatedly instructed the maidservants to serve fresh melon fruits, tea, and pastries once more.

Lady Wei hastily said, "There's no need to go to such trouble; we came here purely to chat and catch up on old times... Speaking of the children, the young master of your household must be sixteen or seventeen by now, shouldn't he?"

At the mention of her son, Madam Song's face instantly bloomed with radiant joy as she smiled and replied, "Indeed he is. After the New Year he will be seventeen, and he's cut from the exact same cloth as our master. Ever since his father passed away, he has suffered no small amount of hardship, leading us lone orphans and widowed mothers out to establish an independent household. Yet in his studies he is exceptionally ambitious and driven; he is already a scholar, and this autumn he will be sitting for the provincial examinations to become a juren. It's not that I'm boasting, but our eldest boy's scholarship is truly outstanding. Every single academy examination ranks him in the top tier. If it hadn't been delayed by family affairs over the past two years, he likely would have passed the imperial palace examinations and become a jinshi long ago, just like his master of a father."

Lady Wei responded with a polite smile, though inwardly she was rather skeptical, thinking to herself: "He wants to pass the jinshi examinations at merely seventeen? Does she think buying vegetables is that simple? In this dynasty, the number of people who pass the jinshi examination before the age of twenty can be counted on one hand. Her son may have some talent, but how can she boast to such an extreme?" Outwardly, however, she said, "Elder Sister is truly blessed to have such a son; your latter half of life will have something solid to lean on."

This remark struck straight at Madam Song's heart's desire, causing her to beam endlessly without stop. Noticing that Zheng Jingxian was seated in the chair on the lower right, holding her handkerchief—though her features lacked a delicate softness, she was nonetheless a striking beauty, carrying the poise and airs of a grand aristocratic household—Madam Song praised without stint: "Sister, don't talk about just me; you are blessed as well. Look at Xian'er—what a fine countenance! Her entire bearing and grace surpass any young lady I've ever laid eyes on. Is she betrothed yet?"

Lady Wei sighed and said, "Not yet; that's also a source of worry for us."

Just as they were speaking, Song Ke walked in, cupped his hands in a bow of salute, and said, "Junior pays his respects to you, Madam."

This was Lady Wei's first time seeing Song Ke. Observing his handsome and striking countenance—radiant like the bright morning sun—clad in a mulberry-dyed straight gown bound with a lotus-patterned belt, which made his bearing all the more extraordinary, she cried out in pleasant surprise, "My word, a boy with looks and disposition like this would put all those young masters of our own family to shame!" Looking him over from head to right, she found everything to her liking, instantly feeling a great surge of maternal affection toward him. With a warm and affectionate smile, she said, "There's no need to call me 'Madam'; it sounds far too distant. In terms of seniority, you should call me Aunt, and I will call you nephew—that is entirely fitting."

Song Ke clasped his fists and accepted the designation. Madam Song then introduced Zheng Jingxian. Song Ke made a formal bow and addressed her as "cousin/younger sister," and Zheng Jingxian rose to return the courtesy.

The introductions complete, Lady Wei began to inquire in detail about what books Song Ke was reading, what he did on a daily basis, which academy he attended, and who his teacher was. Song Ke had originally intended to make a perfunctory appearance in the front hall and then return to his quarters to ponder over Xianglan's affairs, but he hadn't expected Lady Wei to detain him with endless questions. Naturally, he could not show disrespect to a distinguished guest, so he had no choice but to respond with polite civility.

Madam Song naturally viewed her own son as a blooming flower. Living secluded in the inner quarters, she rarely had an opportunity to brag about him, but now that she saw someone who truly recognized his worth, she grew exceptionally excited. Chiming in with Lady Wei's remarks, she praised Song Ke from head to toe until even Song Ke himself felt too uncomfortable to remain seated, his earlobes turning red as he repeatedly shot sidelong glances at Song Tanchai.

Yet Song Tanchai acted as though she hadn't noticed a thing. Instead, she blinked back at him, covering her mouth with her handkerchief in a suppressed giggle.

Hearing that Song Ke, at such a tender age, was already managing shops and landed estates as well, Lady Wei's gaze grew another two shades softer.

After a while, the conversation drew to a close, and Song Ke took his leave to withdraw. Stepping out into the courtyard, he saw that the osmanthus trees were in full bloom. He recalled how Xianglan had once smiled and said to him, "When autumn arrives and the osmanthus flowers in the courtyard bloom, we'll pluck some to make osmanthus wine. The osmanthus wine sold in the marketplace is much too sweet and cloying; I'll brew a lighter, more fragrant version, and when the time comes, I'll knead some osmanthus wine into pastries—it will be indescribably delicious." He stared fixedly at the osmanthus tree for a long moment before letting out a heavy sigh and resuming his walk back. As he reached the drooping flower-gate, he suddenly noticed a handkerchief flutter down right to his feet. Raising his head, he saw that Zheng Jingxian, accompanied by a maidservant, had somehow followed closely behind him.

In the past, Zheng Jingxian always dressed in a spirited, martial style, wearing simple, understated light shades like jade-green or thousand-grass, with her hair combed into a straightforward, simple bun, adorned with nothing more than a solid gold neck ring and no other jewelry at all. Today, however, she wore a peach-colored gown heavily embroidered all over with peony blossoms, her hair meticulously combed into a dense, fine bun from which hung a tiny, pure gold phoenix hairpin with dripping pearls, and her face touched with a light dusting of powder. This attire softened the innate vigor of her bearing considerably, transforming her into the absolute image of a proper young lady from a great noble family.

Knowing that young women of good birth ought not to meet unattached young men in private, Song Ke paused in momentary astonishment, but by the time he registered it, Zheng Jingxian's maid Yue'er had already stepped forward to retrieve the handkerchief. Zheng Jingxian herself appeared completely poised and natural, smiling at Song Ke as she said, "Brother Yifei probably doesn't remember me, but you actually came to my family's residence when we were little."