Against the Current

Xianglan narrowed her eyes slightly.

Huamei cried out, "My sister told me you only entered this household unwillingly because the Eldest Master forced you. You resent him in your heart and dream of leaving this place. But now that the Eldest Master treats you with such kindness—even though he nearly strangled you recently—you should still remember his affection. Why resort to such methods!"

Qin Shi trembled with rage, her face dark as storm clouds.

Xianglan quickly knelt down and said, "Madam, please consider this fairly. It's not just me who can enter and leave this room. Senior maids, young ladies, even Concubine Mei have all been here before. How can this prove I placed the talisman?"

The Changfa family stewardess stepped forward, planting her hands on her hips. "How dare you talk back! Aside from you living in this room, would Concubine Mei or Miss Yingge randomly touch the pillow where the Eldest Master sleeps when they visit the bedroom? The maids are the ones who make the bed, but which of them would harbor such wicked intentions—Lianxin, Tinglan, Rushuang, Nuanyue, or Chunling? Pah! Only you, with your improper looks, you seductive little minx, always trying to tempt people! The Eldest Master elevated you, yet you don't know your good fortune. How vile and rotten your heart must be to hold a grudge against the Eldest Master and use such despicable methods! Madam, quickly have her taken away and punished—strip her clothes and beat her soundly with the board. Her kneeling here is sullying the ground!"

Seeing Qin Shi's face turn purple with anger, Xianglan said tearfully, "I dare not claim complete innocence, but Madam has always been generous and reasonable. Please think carefully—how I conduct myself daily in the household is witnessed by all the maids. Even when Taoist Cui came, I didn't meet with her. Some days ago I returned home, but I was constantly watched—where would I obtain such harmful talismans? That's the first point. Secondly, although I'm young and inexperienced, and have had arguments with the Eldest Master, he has treated me well. What good would harming him do me? Thirdly, the Eldest Master favors me somewhat, and there are many who gossip behind my back. It's entirely possible someone grew resentful or jealous and framed me."

After these words, though Qin Shi's expression remained stern, her gaze swept over several maids nearby, clearly moved by Xianglan's reasoning.

Seeing the situation turning unfavorable, Nuanyue hurriedly knelt and said, "Reporting to Madam, I have something to say. A few days ago, I vaguely saw the young lady sewing something into the pillow. At the time I didn't think much of it, never expecting... never expecting it would be this..." She wiped her face with her sleeve, secretly applying osmanthus oil to her eyes, immediately causing tears to flow freely.

Hearing this, Qin Shi's face turned deathly pale again. Pointing angrily, she scolded, "You seditious, slanderous creature! Still trying to deceive your master with clever words! Someone has witnessed you doing it, yet you remain stubbornly defiant. utterly detestable! Take her away at once!"

The matrons on both sides surged forward, dragging Xianglan outward. Xianglan stubbornly cried, "I beg Madam to see the truth! If it was me, may I be struck by lightning and die a terrible death! I only ask Madam to investigate this matter thoroughly. My wrongful punishment matters little, but if the true culprit remains free, allowing such black-hearted villainy to stay near the Eldest Master, what if he's harmed in the future?"

Qin Shi's heart felt as if boiling in hot oil—filled with both fury and rage. Hearing Xianglan's words, she forcibly swallowed down the fire burning in her throat.Wu Mama quickly stopped the old women and stepped forward, whispering, "Madam, she makes a valid point. If we wrongfully accuse someone and leave the real culprit in the household, we won't even know how we'll die in the future."

Qin Shi closed her eyes briefly. When she reopened them, her expression was calm and clear. After a long pause, she said, "You claim you didn't do it—do you have any proof? If it wasn't you, then who was it?"

Xianglan turned her head sharply, her gaze burning as she looked at Nuanyue. "You say you saw me sewing the pillow—what was the scene like then? Was there anyone else with you who saw it?"

Nuanyue felt a bit flustered. She glanced sideways at Huamei, who was kneeling beside her, covering her face and weeping softly. Steadying herself, she repeated the prearranged story: "This happened three days ago. I remember it was in the morning, after Eldest Master went out to practice martial arts. I went into the room to deliver incense cakes, placed them on the outer table, and then glanced behind the screen. I saw Xianglan sitting by the bed, sewing a pillow. There was no one else in the room at the time, just the two of us."

Xianglan raised an eyebrow. It was true that she had been sitting by the bed doing needlework that day. She knew Nuanyue must have rehearsed this story, so she wasn't panicked, but Nuanyue's account was so detailed and plausible that it was hard to refute, and there was no one else to prove her innocence...

After a moment's thought, she mused, "Excellent—since no one else saw, there's no one to confirm Nuanyue's story is true either." She then sneered, "Nuanyue, your lie is quite convincing. But that morning, I wasn't in the room at all. The chrysanthemums behind the house had bloomed, and I went to admire them..."

Before she could finish, someone from behind spoke up: "Reporting to Madam, Xianglan is telling the truth. I accompanied her to admire the flowers that day!"

Xianglan whipped her head around and saw Xiao Juan kneeling upright on the ground, saying, "I went with her to see the flowers that morning. Xianglan looked at them for a long time and didn't even say a word." After speaking, she glanced at Xianglan and lowered her head.

Xianglan felt a warm surge of emotion well up inside her. She clenched her hands in her sleeves, turned back, took a deep breath, and said, "Exactly, that morning I only went to see the chrysanthemums..." As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and she choked up, "Nuanyue, Eldest Master once favored you, but later he didn't even glance your way. You often tried to get close but gained nothing. Yet that's not my fault. You used to serve in the outer rooms, and it was out of consideration for you that I moved you to the inner chamber, asking you to attend to Eldest Master's dressing and bedding. How could you frame me like this, repaying kindness with enmity? Wasn't it you who took the pillowcase to change it the other day..." Before she could finish, tears streamed down her face.

Huamei's heart sank. She lowered her head and thought, "Just moments ago, she was so aggressive, and now she's crying on cue—I've underestimated her all along. Nuanyue has been carefully watching for times when she was alone in the room, but I never expected she'd be so good at winning people over. Even her little maid is willing to give false testimony for her, and now she's turning the tables."Nuanyue was startled and, feeling guilty, pointed at Xianglan and scolded, "You—you're talking nonsense, slandering me!" She kowtowed repeatedly, her forehead thumping against the floor, and pleaded, "Madam, please see clearly—it wasn't me, it wasn't me!" Pointing at Xianglan again, she cried, "It was her, it was her! Xiao Juan is close to her, so she lied! Everyone knows she entered the household unwillingly, crying every other day, and when she failed to serve Eldest Master well, she was beaten and scolded, even nearly strangled to death by him. Who else would be so vicious as to harm Eldest Master except her, filled with resentment? Only she would wish for Eldest Master to die." Unable to keep her composure, she grew increasingly flustered, her words becoming incoherent.

Qin Shi's eyelids twitched slightly.

Huamei inwardly cursed Nuanyue for being hopeless, like mud that couldn't be plastered onto a wall. She lowered the sleeve covering her face, her eyes red and expression sorrowful, and said, "Sister, with the evidence right before us, why must you refuse to admit the truth until faced with the coffin?" Picking up the talisman from the floor, she added, "The handwriting on this talisman matches your usual writing exactly. If it wasn't you, who else could it be?"

Nuanyue's forehead was already bruised. Her eyes darted around nervously, and she stammered, "Y-yes, it was her!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Shi immediately ordered someone to fetch samples of Xianglan's usual handwriting for comparison, which proved identical.

Qin Shi threw the large characters in front of Xianglan and sneered, "What do you have to say for yourself now?"

Xianglan's gaze remained clear and calm. "Please allow me to write a few characters, Madam." Without waiting for permission, she stood up, walked to the table, dipped a brush in ink, and swiftly wrote on a sheet of paper. Presenting it to Qin Shi, she said, "Madam, please take a look."

Qin Shi examined it and saw the characters for "death and extinction" written in regular script, cursive script, clerical script, running script, swallow script, and seal script. The regular script was further divided into Liu-style and Yan-style, in both large and small sizes, each with elegant structure and powerful strokes.

Qin Shi was astonished. It was rare for even a well-bred young lady to master one style of calligraphy, and even Lin Changzheng, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations at both levels, might not be able to produce such variety. For Chen Xianglan, a girl of servant origins, to write so fluently and gracefully was truly remarkable.

Xianglan knelt again and said quietly, "Madam, as you can see, though I am untalented, I am familiar with several scripts. The regular script on the talisman is what I usually write, which is why someone framed me. If I truly had ill intentions, I could have used a different script or deliberately scribbled poorly—who would have suspected me then?"

Qin Shi stared at Xianglan's radiantly beautiful face and met her bright, piercing eyes, which resembled cold stars in the sky or a deep, dark pool that could captivate one's soul unintentionally.

Their gazes locked for a moment before Qin Shi lowered her head to examine the sheet of characters in her hand.

Nuanyue grew anxious and shrilled, "This is your scheme, isn't it? Just a diversion!"

Xianglan glanced at Nuanyue, a hint of mockery in her eyes, then straightened her expression and said to Qin Shi, "Madam, I have a few more words to say."

Qin Shi was taken aback, studied Xianglan for a moment, and nodded slightly.Xianglan turned her body, her gaze sweeping over Nuanyue's deathly pale face and Huamei's sorrowful expression, then glanced at the several maids and matrons kneeling on the floor. She sighed and said, "There is no perfect circle in this world that cannot be broken. I believe in the retribution of hell and the underworld. Some words have been buried in my heart for a long time. Since things have come to this, it's better to speak openly before Madam." She fixed her eyes on Huamei and asked, "Huamei, lift your head. I ask you, you should have been asleep long ago at this hour. Why did you suddenly come to the main room?"

Huamei seethed inwardly. Although she knew Xianglan was eloquent, she had always regarded her as a tearful doormat who cried all day. Who would have thought that at this critical moment, she would remain unshaken, overturning all her plans and even carving out a sliver of hope for herself. With glistening tearful eyes, droplets still clinging to her rosy cheeks, she spoke in a pitiful and aggrieved tone, "Sister, your words are so sharp. I heard the commotion in the room and knew something had happened. I came because I was worried. When I saw this talisman and the words on it, half my soul was frightened away. Then I remembered how you've always harbored resentment toward Eldest Master, and in my panic, I cried out, feeling it was unjust for Eldest Master and wanting to plead for leniency on your behalf..." She broke into sobs again, weeping mournfully, and continued between gasps, "Whoever placed this, their heart must be blackened! My poor master..."