Against the Current

Lin Dongxiu said, "What's the rush? It's been a long time since we siblings have sat together like this."

But a surge of anger rose in Lin Jinting's heart. He sneered, "She's truly cunning. Although Yi Fei passed the imperial examinations and became a jinshi, his family fortune has mostly declined—how can he compare to eldest brother's smooth official career and bright future? Tsk, such scheming, yet she has a pretty face." As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Jinlou. "How dare you keep such a woman by your side?"

Lin Dongling snorted and said, "Third brother is right. How could eldest brother keep someone like her by his side? Her looks are just ordinary—I think she's not even as good as Luanr." After saying this, she glanced at Shu Ran and added, "Don't you agree?"

Shu Ran wished she could cover Lin Dongling's mouth. She looked at Lin Jinlou and forced a smile, saying, "She's just an ignorant little girl, hardly a beauty." Seizing an excuse to serve tea, she retreated.

Xianglan's face was expressionless, her head bowed, like a vase placed in the corner of the room.

Lin Jinlou acted as if he hadn't heard anything. He beckoned to Xianglan and said, "Little Xianglan, come here."

Xianglan walked over with her head still lowered. Lin Jinlou picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and held it out to her. "This is delicious. It's quite rare to have osmanthus cake in summer."

Xianglan whispered, "I'd like to go inside."

Lin Dongqi immediately stood up and said, "What a coincidence. I'm tired now and would like to find a place to rest. Let Xianglan take me to lie down on the bed here." She stepped forward, took Xianglan's hand, and pushed her toward the eastern side room.

Lin Dongqi knew Xianglan's name. Previously, when she had been framed by Cao Lihuan, it was entirely thanks to Xianglan's exposure that she was saved. Thus, she felt deeply grateful. Today, seeing Xianglan being bullied, she couldn't bear it. Lowering her voice, she said to Xianglan, "They've always been outspoken. Don't take whatever they said to heart."

Xianglan looked up at Lin Dongqi, then gently shook her head. Tears that had been welling in her large eyes for a long time finally fell. She quickly wiped them away and forced a smile at Lin Dongqi. "I'll make the bed for Second Miss."

Lin Dongqi was taken aback. Seeing Xianglan's pitiful appearance, she realized there must be something else going on between her and Lin Jinlou. She moved her lips but didn't know what to say.

In the main hall, Lin Jinlou slammed his teacup onto the kang table with a loud clatter. His face darkened as he said, "What's going on? Have you all taken the wrong medicine and come here to act crazy?"

Everyone was startled. They saw Lin Jinlou's face as black as a pot, filled with a fierce aura. Lin Dongling quickly put down her tea bowl, Lin Dongxiu straightened her neck and swallowed the preserved fruit in her mouth, and Lin Jinting unconsciously sat up straight. One by one, they held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Lin Jinlou sneered, "Speak! Weren't you all chattering away happily just now? Why are you mute now?"

Jinting, Dongling, and Dongxiu hung their heads, glancing at each other, but none of them uttered a word.

Lin Jinting cleared his throat and said, "Eldest brother, that Xianglan..."

Lin Jinlou turned a cold gaze toward him, making Lin Jinting feel a chill in his heart. He slowly closed his mouth. Lin Jinlou's formidable reputation was well-known, and no one in the family dared to provoke him. Since childhood, his siblings had been extremely afraid of him. It was only later, as they grew older and Lin Jinlou became busy with official duties, rarely being home, that when they met, he often smiled like a spring breeze and showed affection toward his younger siblings. This made them forget Lin Jinlou's fearsome side and become loose with their words again.

Lin Jinlou's face was as dark as water. He asked, "Who are the maids serving Third Miss and Fourth Miss?"Everyone in the room fell deathly silent, not daring to utter a word.

Lin Jinlou slammed the table and demanded, "Speak! Who was it?"

Nange and Hanzhi, the personal maids of Lin Dongling and Lin Dongxiu, were in the adjacent parlor. Hearing Lin Jinlou's question, they knew trouble had come, but there was no escape. They had no choice but to go out, kneel, and kowtow, admitting, "It was us, your servants."

Lin Jinlou sneered coldly, "Splendid. My sisters are noble young ladies, yet they've learned such shameless, vulgar talk from the streets. I knew it must be the vile slaves by your sides whispering poison. Guards! Drag them out and beat them!"

Nange and Hanzhi instantly turned pale with terror, kowtowing repeatedly and pleading, "Eldest Master, spare us! Spare us! We’ll never dare again! Never again!"

Lin Dongling and Lin Dongxiu also changed expressions. Lin Dongling sprang to her feet and declared, "I was the one who said those words! What does it have to do with them?"

Lin Dongxiu, however, burst into tears, sobbing, "Brother, are you going to let a woman drive a wedge between us siblings?"

Lin Jinlou fixed his gaze on Lin Dongling and Lin Dongxiu for a moment. Half of Lin Dongling’s defiance deflated, and she slowly sat back down. Lin Dongxiu dared not continue crying, only sniffling intermittently.

Immediately, two matron servants entered and dragged Nange and Hanzhi away. They began beating them in the courtyard, and as the two maids’ screams echoed, Lin Dongling and Lin Dongxiu turned pale and trembled uncontrollably.

Previously, with Zhao Yuechan in the Hall of Knowing Spring, flogging young maids had been commonplace, and the maids there had remained composed. Although Qin Shi was fair in rewards and punishments, she governed the household with kindness and rarely resorted to physical discipline. Wang Shi was even softer-hearted and mild-tempered. Thus, the two young ladies had never witnessed such ruthless beatings, nor had they expected Lin Jinlou to turn on them so abruptly, directly punishing their most trusted maids without sparing any face—a clear warning meant to intimidate them.

Lin Jinlou said coldly, "My sisters have grown up, and troublemaking servants around them have multiplied, corrupting their conduct without cause. As your elder brother, I’ll help you manage the people by your sides. If anyone objects, speak up now."

At this, Lin Dongxiu dared not cry anymore, sitting with her head bowed, while Lin Dongling fidgeted as if seated on pins and needles. Lin Jinting seemed on the verge of speaking but held back.

Lin Jinlou sneered, "So you’ve all grown bold, haven’t you? You claim to visit your new sister-in-law, but in truth, you come to slap me in the face, to cause a scene in the Hall of Knowing Spring. If I don’t rein you in, you’ll all rebel outright!"Lin Dongqi heard everything clearly in the eastern chamber. When elders in the family administered punishment, they still reasoned with others, but if one provoked Lin Jinlou, he couldn't be bothered with reasoning—his palm would swing directly, beating you until you submitted and begged for mercy. In earlier years, Yin Yiniang, Lin Changzheng's favored concubine, had stirred trouble for Qin Shi, infuriating her into a major quarrel with Lin Changzheng. At that time, Lin Jinlou was only nine years old. Upon hearing of this, he barged into Yin Yiniang's room and started throwing punches at her face. Though still a child, he was tall and sturdy, having practiced martial arts since the age of three, resembling a young bull. Before anyone could intervene, Yin Yiniang's nose was gushing blood, her face bruised black and blue, as if a colorful silk shop had opened on her face. The maids and matrons were unable to stop him. Lin Jinlou grabbed the evil-warding sword hanging on the wall and shouted about killing Yin Yiniang. When Yin Yiniang's maid stepped forward to block him, she instantly had a finger sliced off by the sword, wailing incessantly with blood streaming down. Yin Yiniang only realized Lin Jinlou was truly there to take her life when he chopped off a lock of her hair. Terrified, she turned and fled, with Lin Jinlou chasing after her, sword in hand, cursing, "You vile woman, come here and accept your death! Today, anyone who dares stop me, I'll kill every last one of you!" He chased Yin Yiniang halfway across the garden before Qin Shi, alerted by the commotion, arrived and stopped him.

Lin Changzheng was furious. He ordered Lin Jinlou to kneel on the ground and picked up a ruler to beat him. Lin Jinlou, stiff-necked, declared, "She's nothing but a lowly servant, yet she had the audacity to bully my mother. It's her luck I didn't stab her to death today. If she ever spews filth from her mouth again, I'll chop her into eight pieces and throw her into the pond to feed the fish! Let all those gossipmongers who stir up trouble learn their lesson!"

Lin Changzheng's hands trembled with rage as he pointed and said, "You rebel, you rebel! She is your concubine-mother!"

Lin Jinlou rolled his eyes and retorted, "Her children are my siblings, but as a lowly servant, she should bow properly and call me 'Eldest Master' when she sees me. How is she my concubine-mother? Does she even deserve it? A servant with such airs dares to ride over me and my mother—who else should I kill if not her? If Father blames me over such a vile servant and disregards our father-son bond, then you don't deserve to be my father either!"

Lin Changzheng, always stern and dignified, never expected to have such an unruly son. He was so enraged he nearly fainted and raised the ruler to strike again. Just then, Lin Zhaoxiang arrived. Lin Jinlou immediately scrambled up from the ground, dashed over to Lin Zhaoxiang, hugged his waist, and wailed, "Grandfather, Grandfather, save me! My father wants to divorce my mother because of that vile woman and even kill me!"

Hearing Lin Jinlou twist right and wrong, Lin Changzheng was so angry he almost passed out. Lin Zhaoxiang sternly reprimanded him about "the distinction between wife and concubine," but upon seeing the blood marks from the ruler on Lin Jinlou's body, his heart ached with pity. He scolded, "How old is Lou Ge'er? Can he withstand such a deadly beating? The Lin family has always had few descendants, and he is the eldest grandson of the household. What if you harm him! Because of a vile woman's provocations, you and your wife are at odds—if you can't even manage your household, how can you serve as an official outside?"

Lin Changzheng stood with his hands at his sides, listening to the reprimand. In the blink of an eye, he caught sight of Lin Jinlou standing behind Lin Zhaoxiang, making faces and winking at him, nearly giving him a heart attack.The next day, Lin Jinlou obediently went to apologize to Concubine Yin. But just before leaving, when no one was watching, he hissed viciously at her: "You wretched woman! Dare to do it again and I'll truly end you!" This frightened Concubine Yin so severely that she fell gravely ill and would deliberately avoid crossing paths with Lin Jinlou whenever possible. When it came to subtle feminine schemes among women, Concubine Yin naturally feared nothing. But Lin Jinlou came straight for the kill—as the favored eldest grandson of the Lin family, even if he actually killed her, the Lin family wouldn't do much about it. She'd only be throwing her own life away for nothing! Afterward, Qin Shi dealt with Concubine Yin through several thunderous measures, making her completely docile and erasing all rebellious thoughts.

Because of this incident, Lin Zhaoxiang held Lin Jinlou in even higher regard and took him under his personal tutelage.

Lin Dongqi had heard Qin Shi recount this story several times, each time concluding: "Your eldest brother was born with this temperament. How old was he at nine? Already possessing the audacity to kill someone. Fortunately, your grandfather's guidance later reined in his nature, preventing him from going completely astray. I'm not boasting—Lou Ge'er is destined for greatness sooner or later. As his younger sister, you'll inevitably rely on him."

Now that those troublesome ones outside had grown recklessly bold and provoked this tyrant, Lin Dongqi rubbed her temples and inevitably stepped in to mediate. Walking out, she said: "The younger siblings all know they were wrong and willingly accept punishment. They won't dare do it again." Then she asked the younger ones: "Isn't that right?"

Lin Dongxiu hurriedly took the lead: "Yes, yes, we know we were wrong, we know we were wrong..." As she spoke, she tugged at Lin Dongling, who reluctantly admitted her fault as well, while Lin Jinting hung his head in silence.