Chapter 213: Decorum Evaporates

Disclaimer: 

1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests. 

2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author. 

3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.

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Liu Lin again was seated at the teahouse opposite the textile store, watching the storefront. Liu Tao and Xiuxiu had again been instructed to pretend to go in and buy textiles. After they had gone in, they had checked and saw that the stock seemed to still be in order. Everything still seemed to be where they had left them. 

The day before, a group of “hoodlums’’ had again come to harass the store. Liu Lin figured that this newest store assistant wouldn’t be hanging around for much longer. Who was willing to be pressured everyday into giving money or goods? And if they refused, they would get beaten up? The store didn’t belong to the store assistant after all. 

Liu Lin was just watching when he suddenly saw a little sedan chair stop in front of the store. It was clearly a rented litter; Liu Lin straightened his back to look closely at it. 

The store assistant had clearly also seen it. He came out with a helpless expression. Liu Lin saw a hand reach out from within the sedan. The hand gestured at the store as they continued their discussion. It was clear that the hand belonged to a woman. 

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Mbl pvsal yppkpvydv pllxle vs cl pyukdt psxlvbkdt vs vbl rlapsd kd vbl pleyd nbyka. Qlpvknwzyvkdt okzezu, kv pllxle yp vbswtb bl bye pvyavle vs tlv ydtau; bkp hszwxl bye pzsozu nalrv wr. Nkw Nkd xydytle vs nyvnb y rbaypl sa vos, “…. Mblal kpd’v ydu cwpkdlpp yv yzz…”

“Uyd usw czyxl xl… lhlau ps sqvld….”

Mbl pleyd nbyka oyp zsolale vs vbl taswde yde vbl nwavykd rwpble cynj. Rv oyp nzlya vbyv vbl rlapsd kd vbl zkvvla oyp yzps tlvvkdt xsal yde xsal watldv. Mbl osxyd nsdvkdwle vs lmnbydtl osaep okvb vbl pvsal yppkpvydv, yde bkp hsknl pvyavle vs tlv xwnb zswela, “Rq usw vyjl lhlauvbkdt, R osd’v lhld byhl nbydtl vs tkhl nwpvsxlap! Tso es usw lmrlnv xl vs es cwpkdlpp?!”

Gqvla blyakdt vbspl qlo pldvldnlp, Nkw Nkd nswze aswtbzu twlpp obyv oyp tskdt sd. Mbl rlapsd kd vbl pleyd nbyka pbswze cl lkvbla vbl Wkapv Zswdt Yyeyx sa Yyeyx Fsdt. Mblu nzlyazu olal yqvla vbl pkzhla kd vbl pvsal, cwv pkdnl vblu bye bye ds pyzlp – vbl zypv vaydpynvksd xktbv byhl clld obld Nkw Mys bye rwanbyple vbyv cszv sq ale pkzj qsa vball vylzp sq pkzhla – vbl pvsal yppkpvydv oyp ytkvyvle.&dcpr;

Mbl rlapsd kd vbl pleyd oyp yzps nzlyazu qzwpvlale. Bdokzzkdt vs nsdvkdwl vs yatwl okvb vbl pvsal yppkpvydv yv vbl essapvlr, vbl rlapsd elnkpkhlzu pvlrrle swv! Rv vwadle swv vs cl vbl Wkapv Zswdt Yyeyx. Palpple kd y nsxrzlvlzu dlo swvqkv, pbl awpble kdvs vbl pvsal yde blyele qsa vbl nswdvla. Uzlyazu, pbl oydvle vbl pvsal yppkpvydv vs tkhl bla vbl pkzhla yde obld vbl pvsal yppkpvydv alqwple, pbl oldv kd vs vyjl kv qsa blaplzq.&dcpr;

Gv vbl essa, vbl pvsal yppkpvydv oyp ps ldaytle cu vbkp, bl pweeldzu lmrzsele kdvs ynvksd! Tl awpble kdvs vbl pvsal yde pvyavle vs vyjl sqq bkp nzsvblp!

Nkw Nkd blyae y pbaklj qasx vbl pvsal! Nkw Nkd eked’v jdso obyv vbl pvsal yppkpvydv oydvle vs es, ps bl ycawrvzu tsv vs bkp qllv!&dcpr;

Jwv clqsal bl nswze es yduvbkdt, bl pyo obyv bye byrrldle. Mbl pvsal yppkpvydv bye sdzu vyjld sqq vbl kdekts vsr bl bye clld olyakdt yde blyhkzu qzwdt kv sd vbl qzssa. Mbld bl clzzsole, “R’x dsv eskdt vbkp yduxsal!” Gde ayd swv.&dcpr;

Liu Lin was both amused and exasperated. He sat back down before continuing to monitor the store. After a long while, he finally saw the First Young Madam hesitantly walk out. She stretched her head out to look left and right, probably to look for that store assistant. After looking around and not seeing him, she could only hang her head and shrink back in. 

After a while, she again stretched her head out for a look, but this time, she was only looking at the store front area. After some time, Liu Lin finally figured out that she was trying to understand how to lock the door. It took her a while before she finally spotted the wooden planks next to the door. She picked them up and rotated them around, again and again helplessly. After a long time, she finally emerged and called for a rental sedan. 

The porters however, shook their heads. They held their hands out, clearly wanting to be paid first. The First Young Madam re-entered the store. When she was out, she gave the two porters a few copper coins. The two porters looked at the paltry figure with disgust. 

Liu Lin watched as the First Young Madam kept increasing the number of copper coins till those two porters finally nodded their heads. Then they finally helped her to close up the store, the First Young Madam headed up their sedan and they headed off. Her expression was filled with resentment and anger. 

It was only then that Liu Lin finally headed home, face full of smiles. Because it was still rather early, he didn’t see Song Yao when he got back to his rooms. Thinking it over, he realised that she was probably with dasao, so Liu Lin didn’t go over. Instead, he headed in to wash up. 

After bathing, Song Yao had already rushed back to the room. She smiled and asked, “Why are you back so early?”

Liu Lin smiled and was about to respond when the servant girl reported, “Second Young Master, Second Young Madam?”

Song Yao turned and said, “Come in… What’s the matter?”

The servant girl came in and reported, “Second Young Master, some people from the Song family came by earlier. They just uttered a sentence at the gate; they said that Madam Song and the First Young Madam invited you over tomorrow… Then they left.”

Song Yao’s face was filled with astonishment. She turned to look at Liu Lin and was surprised to see him unfazed. He seemed to have been expecting this, so she asked, “Has the person left?”

The servant girl nodded, “They left after saying this to the gatekeeper.”

“Alright. You can leave now.”

Liu Lin nodded his head as he spoke. The instant the servant girl left, Song Yao immediately asked him, “They… What do those two want you to do? Did something happen?”

Liu Lin smiled and pulled her into his arms. He smiled and said, “I don’t know. They’ve probably been backed into a corner with no way out, so they want me to help them think of a plan?” He shook his head, “Did you know that your dasao actually made a trip to Songjiang prefecture to ask for help a few days ago?”

Song Yao was stunned, “I didn’t…. What help did she want?”

“She was looking for the official in charge of the textiles. She wanted his help to bring some stock in from the workshops there on a discount.”

Song Yao knew that he was referring to her “ex-fiance”. Her face changed colour slightly, “How could she look for him? Dasao, she….”

Liu Lin knew what she meant. She was probably worried that by looking for this casanova for help, would she remain faithful to her brother…. He quickly shook his head, “No, that official didn’t even pay her any attention. It seems they have fallen out with each other…. But this woman is really not reliable at all. She seemed to have found an aunt from her family to help her make the approach. I don’t know if her aunt didn’t know how to refuse her, but she followed along. In the end, a person that the First Young Madam referred to as “second uncle” came out to stop them. In front of all the big owners of the textile workshops, he scolded her roundly. Said that she didn’t have any of a major household’s Madam’s decorum, and whatnot…. And then took her aunt away.”

Song Yao stared at him speechlessly. Liu Lin laughed softly. 

After a long time, Song Yao shook her head. She asked him, “Then are you heading over tomorrow? Tomorrow… But it’s the day Xu’er will come back.”

Liu Lin nodded his head, “Of course I won’t go! My precious sister is coming back tomorrow. I definitely need to be at home…. I need to get my meifu drunk, haha! I will go the day after. Let them stew in their panic for a while. Perhaps that would change their attitude.”

Song Yao was both exasperated and amused. Then she nodded her head. She wasn’t a saint who would help others count money after being sold. After she left their gates, she had no more ties to them. She had no issues with whatever Liu Lin decided to dish out to them. 

At the jewellery store, the two Young Madams from the Gu family had already selected their pieces and gone off. Young Master Xing and Xing Rongrong were unaware of the First Young Madam’s identity, so they naturally didn’t pay it any mind. It wasn’t unusual for customers to quarrel in a store, so they didn’t think much of it. 

Xing Rongrong had started to seriously select her items of jewellery, while Liu Xu’er was a bit listless. Seeing that Xing Rongrong had already called her brother over to give his opinion on how each piece looked, she went over to the railing. Shi Cheng immediately went over to join her. 

Liu Xu’er spoke in a low voice, “Say… what is erge planning now?”

Shi Cheng shook his head, “I don’t know the details, but from the looks of things, it’s likely that the two women in the Hanlin family won’t be able to hold on for much longer… They haven’t the faintest clue about how to do business, yet have already learnt how to take things from others like a greedy official. Even after asking to take over the store, they didn’t even know to ask for the workers in it. As far as I know, they’ve already changed shop assistants quite a few times. They are really rather stingy and treat their workers poorly. They only know how to take money from the store. They definitely won’t be able to hold on.”

“Has the store’s silks been decimated?”

“They did take away quite a bit, but your erge didn’t leave them that much high quality silks. They were quite ordinary, so only a few bolts really caught their eye. They didn’t want the rest! Relax, your erge is extremely clear about what stock he still has in the store. Every few days, he gets someone to go in to check. Nothing will go wrong.”

Liu Xu’er finally relaxed when she heard. She went back down to pick out two items of jewellery, while Xing Rongrong had already selected three or four for herself. She smiled and said to her brother, “I want these….”

When she finished, she again looked at Shi Cheng. Her lips moved, as though she wanted to say something, but remembering how Shi Cheng had been ignoring her all day, she finally became timid and ultimately fell silent. 

Shi Cheng came over to sit at Liu Xu’er’s side, watching her select jewellery. He pretended not to have seen Xing Rongrong’s expression. 

Young Master Xing finally smiled and said, “Rongrong likes these few items. Shi Cheng, how much are they?” Actually, he was in a bit of a quandary. When they had entered the jewellery store, he knew his sister would definitely want some. But Shi Cheng would definitely feel awkward about accepting their money, while First Master Xing knew that payment was definitely needed. He too was a businessman – he was quite clear about this point. If the store always had to entertain good friends or family members, all of them keen to take home freebies, how could the store survive?!

Furthermore, this was a jewellery store – every item was worth quite a few taels of silver. 

Three items would be at least a dozen taels – if they really were thick skinned enough to just take it, their friendly relationship would be over. 

Sure enough, Shi Cheng lifted his head and smiled. With a rather casual wave of his hand, he said, “How can I accept your silver! I will give it to Rongrong! If you like, choose a few more items!”

Although his words were very pretty, Young Master Xing knew that they definitely could not take him up on the offer. He smiled and continued to insist. After the two of them went back and forth on this issue, First Master Xing finally said, “If you don’t accept the money, we can’t accept the jewellery… Even if Rongrong likes it, we can only leave it here.”

Shi Cheng finally smiled and gave a reluctant, “Why are you being so courteous to me… Forget it, five taels is enough.”

First Master Xing glanced over the items – no matter how he looked, they should be over 10 taels of silver. So he said, “10 taels! I can’t give any less. I know that I still got a good discount. These items should be worth at least 20! I am only giving you half, so you really can’t refuse me!”

Shi Cheng and he continued to exchange courteous words, before Shi Cheng finally accepted the 10 taels of silver. 

With that, Xing Rongrong got her jewellery which made her very happy and her poor mood from before was mostly dissipated. Then everyone went back into the carriage and returned to the Shi family. 

The Xing family discussed the situation with Shi Qian that evening – they wanted to return the next day. With Shi Qian’s repeated persuasion, the Xing family agreed to stay a day longer. Tomorrow, Shi Qian would bring them to the Shi family’s restaurant to have a look. They would leave the day after. 

Shi Cheng needed to accompany Liu Xu’er back to her maiden home the next day, so he naturally wouldn’t be with them….