A Gallop on the Embankment with Spring Breeze

Chapter 43: The Same Style of Shawl as Sea Princess

Translator: Wu Meixin

Proofread by Fu Tianying

The re-emergence of the sea princess soon spread along the Datong River. Since it was usually dull and boring in winter, such gossips spread faster. Furthermore, some people did see the magic light of the sea princess and the elegant demeanour while she was walking on the water. The scene, plus some vivid descriptions, was even more enchanting. Meanwhile, the glittering shawl which the sea princess wore also gained great popularity.

The one who picked up the shawl was quite business-minded and he sold the half of the broken piece to the Silk and Satin Shop of Ma family who found exactly the same satin and made up the shawl of the same style as that of the sea princess. Experts of silk and satin all said that shawls of Ma family were made up of Zhuanghua Satin, but Ma family insisted that the material of the cloak was actually not as strong as the Zhuanghua Satin and easy to break. After all, if the cloak of the goddess was not broken, how could it be picked up by mortals? As long as the glittering shawl was the same as that of the sea princess, the crowd all desired to buy one, taking no account of the actual material of those shawls. Moreover, Ma family sold the shawl much cheaper than the real Zhuanghua Satin.

The shawl of the sea princess became popular not only in places near the Datong River, but also in the capital. Fortunately, it was easy to make those shawls. Soon, those shawls made by Ma family were sold out. Those who snagged the shawls cherished them, let alone deliberately break them. Those who did not get shawls naturally felt regrettable. They might get similar ones from other shops, but they were still suspicious that the shawls were not so authentic as those from Ma family’s.

“Ha! Ha! Sir, I didn’t expect you to lie and I didn’t know scholars are best at cheating people until today.” Sitting around a blazing fire, Ma Tian’en and Wu Zhong ate and drank together and the bright smile of Ma Tian’en was warm like the sun in winter.

“You are so savvy about playing tricks. I just mentioned it, and it is you who comes up with the idea of taking some rosin in hand and pretending to be a sea princess walking on the piles hidden below the water.” Wu Zhong did not want to take credit for it. It was much better to give the credit to this little liar.

“Ma Dacheng did a really good job and it was done perfectly. The man he found was really a great actor. He called me sea princess while plucking at my skirt and even I myself almost believed it.” Recently, Ma Tianen was getting close with Ma Dacheng, which was also a good thing for her to develop her own influence.

“However, Sir, there is one thing I don’t understand. Since shawls are sold very well, why not buy another batch of Zhuanghua Satin for more shawls?” Ma Tian’en asked in puzzlement. Wu Zhong specially asked them not to sell more shawls, and she chose to obey his advice.

“Because the fake is fake.” Wu Zhong suddenly said gravely. “This time we made a pretence of the sea princess as the last resort so as to take the opportunity to solve this batch of Zhuanghua Satin. In fact, there are still many flaws that cannot withstand scrutiny. If we continue to sell them, I am afraid that the truth will be revealed one day. We might as well stop while we are still not revealed. The so-called rumors are passed in a gust of wind. When something new comes, everyone will forget the old one, and we will be safe. The key point, the most important one as well, is that you can’t make tricks in business. You can’t develop a habit just because you make tricks once, which will really ruin Ma family. You have to remember that although the trick helps us to retrieve the loss this time, it does not mean that we act in the right way. This is only an expedient solution that rarely solves long-term problems.”

Ma Tian’en understood that Wu Zhong did that for his own good. Actually, he thought about the teacher’s advice and nodded in agreement.

“Sir, I understand. I assure you that I will run business of Ma family wholeheartedly without bringing any shame on you. ”

“You are clever and worth teaching. It occurred to me that I should get a cut of the profits, right?”

“Sir, you are a noble scholar. We should not talk about money now. Let’s drink tea and talk about learning.”

In contrast with the celebration in Ma family, it was quiet and deserted

in Tian family. All kinds of calculations of Guo Qi helped Ma family profit from the business. Standing in the courtyard with a thin shirt, Guo Qi punched the tree in the courtyard. While he felt the pain of his hands, it could not compared with the pain of his heart. He had the whole thing planned, but the Princess of the Dragon King coming out of nowhere messed up the plan. Alas, it was obviously a trick of Ma family. However, so many people believed such a stupid trick! Originally, he wanted to bring down Ma family with the aid of government officials by claiming that Ma family employed tricks to deceive people deliberately. However, Master Guo refused his plan. It was an auspicious sign to see the sea princess descending to the earth, which would delight the emperor. To make a big deal about it may bring a blessing rather than a disaster to Ma family. In addition, numerous nobles also bought such shawls. If he claimed Ma family was a liar, then he was ridiculing that the nobles were stupid to be cheated by Ma family. It was not worth the risk. They might as well bring down Ma family step by step, taking advantage of Tian family. Liu Jin, the second most powerful man, was suspicious of power struggles. Therefore, even if Duke Wuding wanted to control the water transport system, he would not dare to do it too obviously. It was such a good opportunity to bring down Ma family, but Ma family was so lucky to escape successfully

“I don’t believe that I can’t win over Ma Tian’en. Let him be perky for a while. One day, I will even ask for profit from him! ”

Instead, Tian Ronghua calmed down for he had already been used to Ma family’ heading off the dangers every time. Moreover, Tian family and Ma family had old grudge since the previous generation. It had been decades. There was a long way to go and it did not matter concerning the gain and loss at the moment. The New Year was coming soon and he remembered his brother again, who had knelt before the shrine for two days, but still refused to admit his fault. His silly brother had obviously troubled in some way and how he wished his brother could be more mature and considerate in the new year .

But his silly brother was still in a good mood. Actually, he was laughing in the room because he heard that Ma family had made a lot of money from the shawls of the sea princess. Others might not know the truth, but he was certain that it was Ma Tian’en who dressed up as the sea princess. As a close friend of Ma Tian’en, he knew when Ma Tian’en wore women’ s clothes, he was practically a beautiful lady. At the thought of Ma Tian’en dressing up as the sea princess, he could not help laughing. He never knew so many people would believe it. Since Ma Tian’en successfully made it through, he might take him out to dinner. Although he did not help him a lot, his legs were swollen after kneeling before the shrine for two days. However, his elder brother had kept a close eye on him; otherwise, he had already fled out to find Ma Tian’en.

Suddenly, Tian Fugui heard someone knocking on the window. Although the sound was very low, he heard it all at once. Would it be Ma Tian’en? Jumping forward a few steps, Tian Fugui ran to the window, opened it, and saw a face popping out.

“Ah, Yan Zi!”

“Shh! Quiet!” Yan Zi outside the window looked left and right to confirm that no one was around, then handed the food container up.

“Catch it! I got into this place with the old man who brought vegetables to your family today. It is our Childe who let me give you desserts and the roast chicken. By the way, he said you should not be so silly next time. ”

“It’s very kind of you to think about me. All these days my elder brother gave me vegetarian food every day, and asked me to reflect what I had done. Moreover, all the desserts were taken away. They said that there was no money for me to eat desserts!” At the thought of his miserable experience, Tian Fugui felt aggrieved and mistreated.

“You’re too plump. It’s a good time for you to lose some weight.

What’s more, you can run faster if your brother tries to beat you next “Yan Zi, you just come here to annoy me?”

“It’s too heavy, so pick it up right now.” Yan Zi only spoke politely with Ma Tian’en. She would not be polite to others.

Tian Fugui took the food container and said, “Well, I’ll pull you in, and you sit in my room for a while before you leave.”

“Well, why should I, a girl, go to your room at this time of night? What if you attempt to do bad things?” Yan Ziyi said seriously.

“Just you … do you think I’m blind?”

“What did you just say?” Yan Zi was about to beat him.

“Someone is coming.” Tian Fugui shouted when he saw someone

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walking this way.

As soon as he finished all this, Yan Zi turned around and ran away,

nowhere to be seen.

Taking the food container, Tian Fugui watched where she left and said, “She runs so fast. Would it be possible that she was a rabbit in the previous life?”

He took the food container to the room and opened it. It was all his favorite desserts. Moreover, a silver ingot stood in the middle of several desserts. Ma Tian’en was a good brother. He knew that Tian Fugui was short of money. Actually, since Tian Fugui was caught back by his elder brother, even his coppers were confiscated.

Tian Fugui, greatly moved, picked up the silver ingot, and suddenly found that a note was still under it. And this was definitely the handwriting of Ma Tian’en. It said, “The silver ingot is to attract your attention. Please return it to me next time. Remember to put a soft cloth under your knees when you kneel before the shrine next time! ”

“Uh …” Tian Fugui could imagine the perky Ma Tian’en who was pointing at himself and saying, “You, such a fool!” However, as long as everyone was fine, he did not care about being a fool. Of course, he would spend the silver ingot. The one who returned it would be a fool indeed.