01x04 - Episode 4

[bunniefuu]

=Against The Current=

[Adapted from He Yanshan's novel,
Orchid Fragrance Fate]

=Episode 4=
[This drama does not correspond]

[to any real historical dynasty.]

[The systems, culture, attire and other
dynastic elements have been adapted.]

Starting today,

you are third-class maids
of Zhichun Hall.

Your monthly allowance is 500 coins.

Four of you will share a room.

You'll each receive
two sets of clothes per season.

Food, clothing, lodging, and travel

must all follow the rules.

- Yes, Qingxiang.
- Yes, Qingxiang.

This room

needs someone in charge.

Who'll do it?

Qingxiang,

how about me?

All right.

From now on, everyone in this room

will listen to Ji'er.

Follow me.

A tyrant at home.

This is where
the second-class maids live.

Two to a room.

Their monthly allowance is 800 coins.

Someday,

I hope I can become a second-class maid.

Work hard and do your duties well,

and your dream will come true.

[Jinzhan, Second-Class Maid]

[of Zhichun Hall]
Qingxiang.

Yingge.

You said you know how to tend flowers.

Jinzhan is in charge
of the plants here.

Starting today,

you'll work under her.

No slacking off.

Yes.

The rest of you,

come with me.

Xiaolian.

Since you don't know
how to do anything yet,

start by helping out
in the small kitchen.

Whatever they tell you to do,

do it.

Yes.

Thank you, Qingxiang.

Follow me.

Baogai.

Qingxiang.

This is the tea room.

Baogai is in charge here.

[Baogai,
Second-Class Maid of Zhichun Hall]

You two will start by learning
to tend the stove and boil water.

Remember,

there must always
be hot water in the kettle

so the masters can

have tea
or wash up whenever they need.

Don't let it go cold.

Don't touch
the tea leaves or medicinal herbs

in the cabinet.

If even
the smallest amount goes missing,

you'll be held responsible.

- Yes.
- Yes.

As if we'd steal from the masters.

You're third-class maids.

You're not qualified
to serve the masters personally.

Keep your heads down and do your work.

Don't get any improper ideas.

Otherwise,

don't blame me for being harsh.

Take care.

What's wrong
with being third-class maids?

First Madam
personally asked for us to...

Get to work.

Clean all the stoves inside.

Hurry.

Baogai,

I'll fetch the water.

[Zijin, Zhao Xingtang's]
Young Lady is upset.

[First-Class Maid]

She's throwing a tantrum.

Young Lady.

Counting your silver
to calm yourself again?

In this Lin Residence,

this is the only thing I find lovable.

Only when I see it

can I endure

another day in this prison.

I've met all four women

First Madam sent over.

Yingge is calm and composed.

Someone like her is either on our side

or against us.

Xiaolian is lively.

Just as she said,

all she thinks about is food.

Lanxiang...

is as guileless as Xiaolian,

but more timid.

As for Ji'er,

she certainly is ambitious.

First Madam despises me
for not bearing children,

so she wants them
to bear heirs for the Lin family.

If I really had to choose someone

to bear Lin Jinqi a child,

I'd rather choose you.

Young Lady,

I don't want to.

Even if you agreed,

Lin Jinqi wouldn't.

He wants the child

to bear the Lin name,

not the Zhao name.

Then

what do you plan to do?

What can I do?

I'm just a woman.

I can't go to the academy,

nor can I make something of myself.

All I can do is save money

and find another way out.

Lanxiang's sachet is already worn out.

I've finished sewing her a new one.

I was going to wait
for an auspicious day to give it to her.

That girl's embroidery

is always so lovely.

She'd surely say again

that I'm like
a mother admiring her daughter,

so everything
she does looks wonderful to me.

But really, she's the one

who cheers me up every day.

If it hadn't been for her

giving me the will to carry on,

perhaps six years ago,

I would've followed our daughter

into the next world.

What can we even do for her?

All we've done is burden her
by making her serve others.

Even now,

we don't know which household

she's been assigned to

or what work she's doing.

I wonder if anyone is mistreating her.

What are you doing?

Look.

Do you still remember this character?

It looks a little familiar.

"Live."

"Live?"

[Live]

Wasn't this

the last thing
Lanxiang's mother left her?

And it's also what Lanxiang gave us.

She said

no matter
which household she's assigned to,

no matter what work she has to do,

she'll live on and live well.

So you need
to pull yourself together, too,

and live well.

Mind your own business.

My life is as tough as a weed.

I've seen it all.

The harder life tramples me,

the stronger I grow.

Stay put and rest.

Your hands are filthy.

I don't have time to keep getting sick.

I still need to save money for Lanxiang.

♪Flowers bloom again by the fence♪

♪Snow falls white upon the eaves♪

Slow down.

♪Whose footsteps come and go?♪

Persimmons!

These are fresh.

Look how fresh they are.

Persimmons!

Beautiful and delicious
rouge persimmons!

♪People gather, then part♪

Lanxiang, hurry up.

Everyone's waiting for your charcoal.

You two,

one takes the first half of the night,

and the other takes the second half.

The fire mustn't go out.

There must always
be hot water in the kettle.

Yes.

Yes.

How many times have you said that?

Aren't you tired?

I'm exhausted after working all day.

I need a rest.

Bring a pot of water to our room.

We've been serving
Young Madam all day.

We're exhausted
and want to soak our feet.

[Lucao,
Second-Class Maid of Zhichun Hall]

I'll take it over.

I'll go back and get some sleep.

I'll come relieve you after midnight.

Hurry.

Young Madam needs hot water.

Why is there nothing on the stove?

What have you been doing?
If Young Madam holds

you responsible, can you
bear the consequences?

The water we boiled earlier

is right here for when we need it.

It's just the right temperature now.

Hurry and boil some more water.

Father,

my hands are covered in charcoal dust,
just like yours.

Mother would nag me again if she saw.

[Lanxiang,]

[Father will remember.]

[Live well.]

[Let's all live well.]

I slept right through,

and you didn't even wake me.

Baogai said

someone has to stay
by the stove at all times.

I didn't dare leave.

If you're too timid to get any sleep,

you can't blame me.

No one needed water during the night,

so I kept dozing off, too.

I'm not sleepy at all.

Must be nice for you.

Our room was freezing last night.

Even in my dreams,
I was looking for a fire to warm up.

These accounts

are well kept.

There isn't a single error.

Thank you for your praise, Young Master.

Your only son

must be
of marriageable age now, isn't he?

Thank you for asking, Young Master.

He's already married.

Whose daughter

was lucky enough to marry him?

Her name is Lancao.

She was Young Madam's dowry maid.

She is indeed fortunate.

It's all thanks to you, Young Master.

Please...

Please, Young Master,

spare me.

Are there any errors
in these account books?

We have fine Hangzhou white chrysanthemums
right here in the residence,

yet she insists we pick them fresh,

calling it an elegant pastime.

I think Qingxiang is just showing off

and making work for us.

She's obviously a maid just like us,

but just because she can read a little,

she puts on airs like a young lady.

Bah.

Walls have ears.

Someone might hear you.

Can't you read, too?

Young Madam
was too impatient to listen before,

so you didn't
get the chance to tell her.

Now you can find an opportunity

to tell her.

Maybe Young Madam

will take a liking to you
and put you to good use.

I wouldn't dare.

I'm afraid Young Madam won't like me,

and I'll only make Qingxiang dislike me.

You're only bold with your own people.

You only act tough in front of me.

The moment you meet
someone truly formidable,

you can barely get a word out.

I'll keep your secret for you,

but

you'll have to listen to me from now on.

You have my word.

When I, Lv Ji'er,
give my word, I keep it.

Absolutely.

You can't just pick flowers
from the garden.

Which household are you from?

Miss,

we're from Young Master's household.

What a coincidence.

I have a Buddhist scripture here.

Please take it back
to Zhichun Hall for me.

[Diamond Sutra]

Take it back.

Tell him Old Madam
sent it to Young Master.

Find a suitable place to enshrine it.

Don't worry.

I'll personally

deliver this Buddhist scripture
to Young Master.

[Diamond Sutra]

It's going to rain soon.

Let's hurry back.

I know a shortcut.

Let's take it back.

We can't let
this Buddhist scripture get wet.

All right.

Are you blind?

Watch where you're going!

You're the blind one!

Why are you running like someone's died?

[Outstanding debt: 1,000 taels.
Outstanding debt: 100 taels]

[Outstanding debt: 500 taels.
Debtor: Liu San]

[Diamond Sutra]

Thank goodness the scripture
wasn't stained or damaged.

Otherwise, how could
I answer to Young Master?

Here's yours back.

I'd rather pick my own.

I'm heading back first.

It's fine if the flowers get wet,

but not the scripture.

It's for Young Master.

We can't be careless with it.

Ji'er.

What?

I'm running an errand for Young Master.

As soon as you get back,
take the scripture

to Young Master
and Young Madam's room.

You don't have to tell me.

Take your time picking them up.

As the head shopkeeper
of Rongbao Pavilion,

you'd even take
the twenty taels from my family.

Either you urgently need money,

or

someone is going
to inspect the accounts.

Are there any errors

in these account books?

Yes. There are.

Where?

I don't know.

I really don't know.

These transaction accounts

were all handed over to Qingxiang,

Young Madam's maid.

I only did as I was told.

I really don't know.

I really don't know.

Why are you kneeling?

Sit down and talk.

Thank you, Young Master.

Thank you, Young Master.

Zijin, Young Madam's maid,

brought me two jars
of Eight Treasure Tea.

It's even made with white
chrysanthemums from the garden.

It's perfect for this time of year.

It clears internal heat
and relieves dryness.

Try some.

If you like it,

take a few jars home.

Thank you
for your generosity, Young Master.

I've been away for many years.

For now, I don't want
something this trivial

to cause an argument
with Young Madam.

I understand.

I'll make sure Young Madam
never finds out.

I burned this hand myself

when I dozed off by the brazier.

Young Master knows nothing about it.

Young Master even praised my work

and rewarded me with Eight Treasure Tea.

You know what to say.

Go.

Thank you, Young Master.

Thank you, Young Master.

Hurry and work it out.

How much did we make this month?

What's wrong?

Young Lady.

I...

Speak properly.

If kowtowing and kneeling
could solve problems,

I wouldn't be here.

I...

I took the wrong one.

The wrong one?

Then what's this?

It's...

It's a real Buddhist scripture.

A Buddhist scripture?

Then where's the account book?

The account book...

On my way back,

I didn't want any trouble,

so I deliberately took a shortcut.

I ran into two third-class maids
from our household,

Ji'er and Lanxiang.

It must've been them.

I mistakenly brought
the Buddhist scripture back,

and they took the account book.

Why are you still kneeling?

Get Madam Feng

and go catch the thieves.

They dared to steal from their master.

Tie them up,

gag them, and sell them off.

Are we supposed
to wait until Lin Jinqi returns

and let him deal with us?

[Diamond Sutra]

[Feng Cang'er,
Zhao Xingtang's Housekeeper]

Why haven't you taken
the Buddhist scripture

to Young Madam yet?

The Buddhist scripture
is for Young Master,

not Young Madam.

If Young Master isn't here,

shouldn't you give it to Young Madam?

The maid from Old Madam's
household made it clear.

This Buddhist scripture
is for Young Master.

Of course I'll personally
give it to Young Master.

[Diamond Sutra]

Is it pretty?

I'm warning you, Xu Lanxiang.

This is my errand. Don't even
think about taking it from me.

You're just delivering
a Buddhist scripture.

It's not like you're delivering
the Buddha himself.

I wouldn't dream of taking it from you.

At least you know your place.

- Young Madam.
- Young Madam.

[Diamond Sutra]

[Outstanding debt: 1,000 taels.
Outstanding debt: 100 taels]

What were you
just saying about my errand

and your errand?

What's going on?

When we were picking flowers,

we met a maid
from Old Madam's household.

She instructed me

to give this Buddhist scripture
to Young Master.

She said Young Master
should find a place to enshrine it.

On my way back,

I accidentally bumped into Qingxiang

and fell.

My clothes got muddy.

I was afraid of appearing
before Young Madam in such a state,

so I thought I'd come back
and change into clean clothes first.

Once I was presentable,

I'd take the Buddhist scripture

to Young Master
and Young Madam's room.

And you?

You're soaked through
and your feet are covered in mud.

Where have you been?

Young Madam,

when I went to deliver
the chrysanthemums to the tea room,

it started raining.

Baogai told me to come back

and change into clean clothes.

Young Madam
can't bear children herself,

yet she's so jealous.

She knows full well that us...

First Madam
sent me here for Young Master,

yet Young Madam
keeps such a close watch on him.

She won't give me
the slightest chance to get near him.

I'm talking to you.

Why aren't you saying anything?

Baogai is still waiting
for me to get back to work.

Perfect. Take that basket of flowers

with you.

Tell her I got caught in the rain

and my chest feels uncomfortable,
so I need to lie down for a while.

No wonder you mixed them up.

[Diamond Sutra]
These two books

would look the same

to someone who can't read.

I meant to disguise
the account book as a Buddhist scripture

to keep others from noticing,

but I ended up fooling myself.

Put the account book away safely.

As for the Buddhist scripture,

when the rain stops,

have Zijin deliver it.

I don't want to see Lin Jinqi.

Why didn't you
punish Ji'er and Lanxiang?

Zijin,

you've been with me
since you were little.

You've grown taller, but no wiser.

You're still as foolish as ever.

If Ji'er had known it
was an account book,

she never would've
gone back to change her clothes

and tidy herself up.

Since she had no idea what it was,

why should we make a fuss

and draw attention?

Later,

Young Madam will pass the Buddhist
scripture on to Young Master,

and that will settle the matter.

I understand now.

Ji'er and Lanxiang,

like me,

can't read.

They were convinced it
was a Buddhist scripture.

One was bold enough

to use it as a chance
to get close to Young Master,

while the other was too timid

to compete with Ji'er,

so she simply
went to deliver the flowers.

Do we have any more
of the new Eight Treasure Tea?

Yes.

Young Master
has finished his Eight Treasure Tea.

You two, hurry

and take some to Sanjue Hall.

Young Master is waiting for it.

We'll go right away.

Qingxiang told us

that we're third-class maids

and can't enter the masters' rooms
to serve them personally.

Can't you see no one's here?

Then let's wait
for Baogai to come back.

What if Young Master gets angry

while we're waiting for her?

Hurry.

Young Master is waiting.

Move.

Don't ruin my chance.

Where's Ji'er?

A young servant
came with a message just now,

saying Young Master was waiting
for his Eight Treasure Tea.

Ji'er wanted
to wait for you to come back,

but the young servant
kept urging her to hurry.

Ji'er didn't dare
keep Young Master waiting,

so she had no choice
but to take a jar of tea over.

That must've been Jiugao,
Young Master's attendant.

It's just a jar of tea.

If Young Master needed it so urgently,

Jiugao could've taken it back himself.

Why make us deliver it?

They really can't stand to see us idle.

It's always safer

to keep your feet firmly on the ground.

Stay here.

I'm going out for a while.

I'll ask Qingxiang

if we should send Young Master
a few more jars of Eight Treasure Tea.

Look. What is this?

Money?

You're becoming a bigger fool.

This is money
given to me by Young Master.

You get money
just by delivering him a pot of tea?

Young Master said
I'm capable and quick-witted.

Young Master asked me

why the Young Madam came to our place

in the pouring rain yesterday.

I told him about the sutra.

Now, Young Master
will surely remember my name.

Young Madam also remembers your name.

So what if she does?

First Madam sent me here.

As long as Young Master likes me,

surely

she wouldn't dare offend First Madam

and Young Master.

I heard

Young Madam Liu on Taiping Street

beat a maid to death.

=Against the Current=
[Next Episode's Preview]

This is what happens

to those with wicked intentions
who betray their masters.

Young Madam said

you should all take a good look

and remember this well.

Have you seen clearly?

Yes.

- Yes.
- Yes.

You are

Lanxiang's parents?

My father is Xu Wanquan.

My mother is Xue Guihua.

My name is Xu Lanxiang.

♪Spring slips from the
branches once more♪

♪Flowers bloom unseen,
as they have before♪

♪All the joys and sorrows come and go♪

♪While loss leaves winter in the heart♪

♪Though all the world may fade♪

♪Time rolls on as
countless lives rush by♪

♪Night winds wander
through the halls of long ago♪

♪No page could hold the
longing words can never show♪

♪Every joy and sorrow
in this fleeting life♪

♪Fades into the past
as new wounds rise♪

♪While whispers of perfume
linger beneath the eaves♪

♪Let the cold wind rage,
let the wild rain fall♪

♪Let sorrow spill like shadows over all♪

♪Let love fall to pieces,
let old anger burn away♪

♪Let the past die with yesterday♪

♪One last fire, one last cup of wine♪

♪And silver moonlight to
guide me through the night♪

♪Let beginnings fade
as endings come to call♪

♪From this endless dream,
there's no return at all♪

♪Let the cold wind rage,
let the wild rain fall♪

♪Let sorrow spill like shadows over all♪

♪Let love fall to pieces,
let old anger burn away♪

♪Let the past die with yesterday♪

♪One last fire, one last cup of wine♪

♪And silver moonlight to
guide me through the night♪

♪Let beginnings fade
as endings come to call♪

♪From this endless dream,
there's no return at all♪