Chapter 98: Mr. Zhu’s Present
Translator: Storm in a Teacup
As soon as An Rushuang finished speaking, the shopkeeper of the cloth store was dumbfounded. As an expert in cloth business, he, with his mouth wide open, stared at An Rushuang in astonishment.
Madam Zhang gazed sideways at An Rushuang, then caught a glimpse of the cloth with a cold smile. “Humph! I have never heard about Flowing Cloud Silk. This is evidently Wave Brocade. I am not blind yet.”
An Lingshan echoed, “Sister, do you intend to wear it at your birthday party? It will be hotter in half a month.” She looked worried while gazing at An Rushuang, as if she really cared about her.
Even Lady An was panicked. She knew An Rushuang was telling a lie to help her. If it was proved to be the Wave Brocade, wouldn’t Rushuang be set in a dilemma?
How could she deal with it?!
Keeping silent with a smile, An Rushuang casually gave a hint to the shopkeeper with her eyes. Standing by for such a long time, it was high time for him to say something.
The shopkeeper couldn’t help trembling under her piercing gaze. With a smile on his fat face, the shopkeeper said unhurriedly, “How smart the first miss is! This isn’t Wave Brocade characterized by heaviness and thickness. However, the... Flowing Clouds Silk is as light as the cicada’s wing. Woven by the silk produced by the giant silkworm of the Southern Area, it will give out a glamorous light, totally incomparable among the various cloths.”
Madam Zhang’s face darkened already, while An Lingshan said through her gritted teeth still with a smile, “As ignorant as I am, I have never heard about this cloth before.”
Glancing at several female embroiders, she bore great grudge against An Rushuang who intentionally embarrassed her by not telling her about the cloths in advance.
This scheming girl was really a big trouble for her!
The shopkeeper glanced at An Lingshan in silence and presented the Flowing Cloud Silk to An Rushuang respectfully with her head lowered, “This is the only one we have, and I will present it to the first miss for free on behalf of my boss. Please accept it.”
A little stunned, An Rushuang turned to the shopkeeper in confusion. “I don’t know your boss.”
Given her coolness, the shopkeeper answered with a smile, “Our boss’s family name is Zhu. These cloths are given to you as a present to return your big favor.”
Everybody was shocked at his words.
An Rushuang suddenly remembered the man at Changting Pavilion. Since it was no more than a trifle, she never expected he still remembered her.
Was Mr. Zhu the owner of a cloth store?
An Rushuang felt headache when she tried to get a clue, so she had to stop and said politely, “It’s such a valuable present. Thanks very much for Mr. Zhu’s kindness.”
The shopkeeper laughed. “We are happy if you like it.”
Madam Zhang muttered enviously, “Humph! It’s indecent of a man to send a present to a girl he just met once. Miss An’s reputation might be ruined...”
All the people present gasped in astonishment at Madam Zhang’s rashness. How dare she discuss a girl’s reputation in public?
With a sneer to himself, the shopkeeper turned to Madam Zhang and her daughter before saying respectfully, “My boss also prepared gifts for the second Miss. Since there is only one bolt of Flowing Clouds Silk, my boss said the second Miss can choose your favourite among others. However...”
He paused, his smile more radiant, “Since you’re worried about the second Miss’s reputation, I have to take them away directly.”
Madam Zhang’s powdered face went crimson. Just as that of the opera performers, all of her face seemed ghastly pale except for her fiery red cheeks. She gritted her teeth, her cherry red lips curled upward in hatred. “All right. As the second miss of the An family, Lingshan can buy cloth from any store she likes!”
The shopkeeper smiled tenderly. “Of course she can. Since most of the cloth stores in the capital city belong to my boss, it is very possible that the second miss will ruin her reputation once buying cloth from those stores.”
Clenching her fists, Madam Zhang was speechless, while An Lingshan, with her face ghastly pale, was lost in thought.
An Rushuang chuckled. The shopkeeper actually shared the same personality with her!
“Chun Xiang, since Madam Zhang doesn’t intend to choose cloth, please escort her back as soon as possible. Never shame yourselves again.” Lady An ordered.
“Madam...” A maid said timidly. Even before she finished speaking, Madam Zhang slapped her relentlessly and left in a huff. Covering her burning cheek with her hand, Chun Xiang followed her and left in grievance.
To An Rushuang’s surprise, as nothing had happened, An Lingshan actually said tenderly to the shopkeeper with a smile, “Master, sorry to offend you just then. Please thank Boss Zhu on my behalf.”
She chose a bolt of cloth casually with a glamorous but awesome smile on her face.
Including the valuable ones picked for themselves, Lady An totally chose thirty bolts. Besides all the maids at the manor who would get two new summer dresses each, Madam Zhang would also get her own, but no one knew whether she felt comfortable when she wore those dresses.
It was until noon that they finally finished dealing with the cloth. An Rushuang intended to ask her mother about the Reunion Cup, but Lady An was busy with asking the seamstresses to measure her size, totally indisposed to talk about this subject. An Rushuang had no choice but to follow her mother’s order and return to Liuxi Pavilion.
With several bolts of cloth in her arms, Hong Yu couldn’t help asking in curiosity, “Miss An, how did you learn about the Flowing Cloud Silk?”
An Rushuang answered without turning back, “I actually know nothing about it at all.”
She was also curious that she just improvised a name randomly given the cloth’s top-level quality. Rather than debunk her lie, the shopkeeper not only echoed her, but even flattered her by satirizing Madam Zhang and An Lingshan at the same time. He was definitely not a common shopkeeper.
Hong Yu’s mouth widened in surprise. “But weren’t you afraid that they would know the truth someday...”
An Rushuang couldn’t help laughing. “What truth? Even if I made a mistake, the cloth couldn’t turn into the Wave Brocade.”
Hong Yu stared at her in confusion and nodded.
When she handed the cloth to Silver, Hong Yu warned her repeatedly about its high value and she must keep it intact. Silver responded submissively.
Xiaotao had already followed An Rushuang to go outside. Hong Yu caught up with them in a hurry.
They got in the wagon with black canopy heading to the Eastern Street.
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