The Female Supporting Role Shows Out - Chapter 102
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
After giving the cloth to Lin Dan, the eldest prince asked, “What do you think, Miss Lin? Are you satisfied? If you think these women are useful, I will send them to your home tonight. But you have to watch them carefully and don’t let others discover their identity, or you will be in big trouble if you are accused of hiding bandits.”
“I understand. Thank you, your highness,” said Lin Dan, cupping her hands gratefully. She knew that Du Rusong and the eldest prince must have taken a risk to bring these women out.
At first, Du Ruyan was a little worried, but she calmed down when she saw the calm look on Lin Dan’s face. She patted the cloth in her hand and said with a smile, “Dandan, these clothes are more beautiful than Shujin. They must be able to suppress Meng Zhong’s arrogance.”
“In Japan, this kind of technique is called western array technique, which was inherited from the great Tang Dynasty hundreds of years ago. In fact, it is our own technique, but it was lost because of war. Now that it has returned to our homeland, we must carry it on and inherit it for generations. We can’t lose anything from our ancestors.” In front of the eldest prince, Lin Dan didn’t mind saying something cheerfully.
The eldest prince was really moved. He immediately promised, “Miss Lin, you are right. How can the old ancestor’s things be taken away by the Japanese bandits? You just take those women back and learn their weaving skills as soon as possible. I will be responsible for the accident.”
“Thank you, your highness,” said Lin Dan, bowing respectfully.
Du Ruyan said in a hurry, “Let’s take those women away now, in case a long delay may cause trouble.”
“No, we have to tie them up for a few more days. We will release them when they are desperate to the extreme. We can’t be too hasty to help them, or they won’t remember long and it will be difficult to teach them in the future. The best way to tame beasts is to give them the carrot and the stick.” After saying that, Lin Dan couldn’t help but be stunned. She seemed to be very familiar with the affairs in the army and knew how to tame the capture. Was she a soldier in her previous life?
When she was lost in thought, she didn’t notice that the eldest prince and Du Ruyan were looking at her with complicated eyes. They had thought that Lin Dan was a plain dealer, but in the end, they found that her way of dealing with problems was really a little ferocious. She was not deliberately pretended or formed, but the kind of ferocity that penetrated into her bones, pure and innocent.
The smile on Du Ruyan’s face disappeared soon. She held her arm and said, “Dandan, you’re so smart. You’re so thoughtful. I’ll listen to you.” If those women made trouble, she and Dandan would be the scapegoat. Perhaps her brother and the eldest prince would be implicated! Thinking of this, Du Ruyan had no sympathy at all.
The eldest prince, who had been a little worried, now completely relaxed. It was true to say that Lin Dan was kind, but she would not be soft-hearted when it was time to be cruel. It was undoubtedly a relief to cooperate with such a person.
“Okay, I’ll lock them up for a few more days. You two are tired. Go back to your room and have a rest.” The eldest prince sent the two people back to their wing room, turned around, and went to the next room. He shook his head at the awake Du Rusong and said, “Rusong, you seem to have a crush on an extraordinary girl.”
“What did Dandan do?” Du Rusong, who couldn’t fall asleep because of the sharp pain, cheered up at once.
The eldest prince told him what had happened before carefully and sighed, “I’ve never seen such a calm, stubborn and decisive girl.”
Du Rusong coughed while chuckling, “Her father and mother are both brigands. Of course, she is different from other girls.”
The eldest prince looked at him and sighed in his heart: Look at my friend’s proud appearance, as if he is a descendant of brigands. He can’t be cured! He really can’t be cured!
—
Since Lin Dan was busy taking care of Du Rusong, she hadn’t visited her shop for half a month. But even if she and Du Ruyan were not here, there was nothing to worry about in the shop, because they did not receive any orders at all, and their business was taken away by Meng Clan Embroidery Shop across the street.
Zhang Hui had no choice but to come to the eldest prince’s manor to look for someone. She used to be brigand and naturally had a natural resistance to these officers and soldiers. Fortunately, Lin Dan came out with a package soon and said “Mother, there are two pieces of clothes in this shop, which are the size of you and Third Aunt. You don’t need to do anything. Just put on your clothes and go to inspect the shop when there are a lot of people. If anyone comes to ask, tell them that the cloth on your body is customized by the embroidery shop and the production is very small at present. Don’t sell it to others. Don’t tell them anything else.”
Zhang Hui opened the package and was stunned.
Patting her on the shoulder, Lin Dan asked, “Mother, did you hear that?”
“Yes, I heard it,” Zhang Hui nodded in a trance, and finally hesitated. “Dandan, is such a good dress really made for me?”
“Of course, I’m running out of time, so I only made two clothes. When I’m free in the future, I’ll make one for Fourth Aunt. Please explain it for me, lest she thinks too much. When Young Master Du recovers and can take the carriage, we’ll go back. They have no parents. If I’m not here, they really have no one to rely on. The empress can’t go down the mountain casually. Besides, she has been depressed and can’t bear any stimulation these years. She still doesn’t know about Young Master Du’s injury. Mother, please take care of the manor for them. Don’t let anyone in casually.”
“Okay, okay, I know.” Zhang Hui kept nodding. She didn’t realize that it was not appropriate for her daughter to take care of two people four or five years older than her. Now the Lin and Du families were supported by her alone.
—
The next day, Zhang Hui and Third Aunt went to inspect the shop in new clothes. It was at noon, and the sun was shining all over the ground, bringing warmth. Everyone walked out of the door and enjoyed the rare sunny day. Today, a new Shujin was released from Meng Clan Embroidery Shop. A group of noblewomen and debutantes rushed to the shop in horse-drawn carriages.
“Don’t take it away. This brocade has been booked by the Inspector-General’s wife!” the shopkeeper shouted.
“Why are you booked by her again? How did you do your business?”
“Ladies, if you want it, you can also book it in my shop. Once we finish it, we will immediately send it to you. We have no choice. Now the weaving workshop of our host has just been set up, and the number of women who can make this kind of brocade is too little to raise the yield. In the middle of the year, when the person who will pick and buy clothes for the noble people in the palace comes, I’m afraid the brocade produced by our family all year round will be offered.” The shopkeeper pretended to sigh helplessly.
It was said that this kind of cloth would become a tribute, and they couldn’t buy it in the future. The ladies went crazy to buy it. They had booked all the cloth four or five months later, and the price had increased several times.
The passers-by were stunned. They thought that the fabric in this shop must be the best in Lin’an. Otherwise, how could there be so many noble people competing to buy it? Once this impression appeared, the effect would soon be revealed. When people needed to buy cloth, the first person to think of was undoubtedly Meng Clan Embroidery Shop.
The business of the stores nearby had been taken away, but they had to swallow their anger to get involved in the business of a new type of Shujin from Meng Zhong. Just as their eyes turned red, a carriage slowly stopped in front of the gate of Danyan Embroidery House. Two tall middle-aged women came down from the inner side, stood there, slightly touched the hemline of their dresses, and then stepped onto the stairs. The sun just shone on above their heads, their dresses reflected the faint light, and instantly took away the sight of passers-by.
One of them was wearing a bright red Ruqun (襦裙), and the other was wearing a dark blue Quju（曲裾）（Note: If you want to know more about them, please google the Chinese words.）, which was the most popular style nowadays. The two kinds of cloth were very smooth and eye-catching, and after putting on them, they would naturally stick to the body curve. When walking, they were gently swaying with the wind, like waves rolling, or like clouds and smoke floating. They had a kind of ethereal beauty.
If it was just the best quality, it was not surprising. But what was strange was that the red cloth faintly emitted a golden light under the sunlight. The light was neither fixed nor dazzling. It looked very gentle and bright, and then like flowing water, it slowly moved along the wrinkles formed by the clothes, following the movements of the clothes and the changes of the light It was in bright or dark colors, just like the rosy clouds that sprinkled in the sky when dusk approached.
However, when you approached it, you would find that this cloth was mixed with some golden clouds. In the light, it was really a pure red cloth without any flaws.
The dark blue dress was also made of the same fabric. It was pure without sunlight, but in the sunlight, it would emit soft blue and white light. There were also many shining dots indistinctly, like stars all over the night sky, and there were many mysteries and spirits in the quiet.
After looking at these two clothes and then at the new Shujin produced by Meng Clan Embroidery Shop, the difference between the two could be immediately sensed. The reason why the new Shujin glowed was that in the process of making up, the weaving woman mixed a kind of gold thread with the silk. It looked very beautiful from a distance, but at a closer look, man could find that this kind of gold thread was much harder and thicker than the silk, greatly affecting the texture and feel of the cloth. It looked neither smooth nor drooping.
Although it was bright, it was crude. The man-made marks were too obvious, completely different from the cloth on the two women’s bodies. It felt delicate, and its texture was drooping. At a close look, it was pure and flawless, and from a distance, it was soft and bright. The reason why it could reflect light was not because of the rough gold threads, but because it was merged into a thin silk net that was hard to see with the naked eye. The net and the cloth were completely integrated, and the light that appeared was floating, thin and transparent. It was in harmony with the light of nature.
The exquisite workmanship, natural color, and luster immediately set off the new style of Shujin. Even though Zhang Hui and Third Aunt were middle-aged, they still looked radiant and charming.
The ladies and debutantes, who were busy purchasing Shujin, looked at them one by one and then froze. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com
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“In Japan, this kind of technique is called western array technique, which was inherited from the great Tang Dynasty hundreds of years ago. In fact, it is our own technique, but it was lost because of war. Now that it has returned to our homeland, we must carry it on and inherit it for generations. We can’t lose anything from our ancestors.”
The eldest prince was really moved. He immediately promised, “Miss Lin, you are right. How can the old ancestor’s things be taken away by the Japanese bandits?
– Chinese patriotism is strong in this one.