Chapter 40
A warm afternoon.
Hongseol, dozing in her chair, heard a soft, gentle voice.
“Miss, how have you been?”
Hongseol’s eyes instantly sparkled, and she straightened up.
The voice belonged to Mrs. Hong of the fabric shop. She had just entered Hongseol’s room to take measurements for her clothes.
“Yes, I’ve been well. But you, ma’am…”
Hongseol glanced at Mrs. Hong with a worried expression.
It was clear how much emotional distress Mrs. Hong had endured; her cheeks were sunken from all the suffering.
“Um, regarding the iris situation… has it been resolved?”
“Oh, resolved? Thanks to those crafty merchants, our fabric shop and the weaving guild had to close after making your clothes. That was the last we could do.”
A maid who had accompanied her interjected, dabbing at her tears with her dress.
“What are you doing! You mustn’t show such a pitiful sight in front of the young lady.”
Despite Mrs. Hong’s scolding, the maid couldn’t hold back her sorrow.
“Thinking about where those difficult women will scatter… ugh!”
“Enough! I’m sorry, Miss.”
Mrs. Hong bowed on behalf of the maid. At that moment, Hongseol slid off her chair and grabbed the hem of Mrs. Hong’s dress.
“Actually, I’ve brought something to replace the iris.”
“To replace the iris? You mean… you’ve found a blue dye?”
Mrs. Hong asked in surprise.
“Yes. Please come in, Elder!”
The door swung open, revealing Namgung Mu-yeong, accompanied by two men.
One carried a bamboo basket, the other a bundle of paper.
Frowning, Namgung Mu-yeong entered the room.
“This young one… daring to summon an elder…”
Hongseol quickly retorted.
“You… came for business, didn’t you?”
“And you didn’t even say a word to an elder!”
Heh-heh.
Though his words sounded stern, Namgung Mu-yeong wasn’t truly angry. Hongseol, knowing this from experience, smiled subtly.
“Miss, what is the meaning of this…?”
Namgung Mu-yeong addressed Mrs. Hong and the maid with a dignified tone.
“I am Namgung Mu-yeong, elder of the Namgung family, and I run a small trading company in Hapbi.”
“Who in this Hapbi… no, Anhui Province would not know the Mue Sang Trading Company!”
Mrs. Hong and the maid hurriedly bowed.
“I am Hong, running a small fabric shop.”
“Pleased to meet you. Today, I am not here as an elder of the Namgung family, but as the owner of Mue Sang Trading Company.”
“Excuse me?”
“I wish to supply your shop with a new dye to replace the iris.”
“Thank you, but iris blue is not easily replicated…”
“First, take a look. Here!”
The man behind Namgung Mu-yeong opened the bamboo basket, revealing a ceramic bowl filled with a clear, vivid blue powder.
Mrs. Hong could not hide her astonishment.
“This is…!”
She carefully pinched the powder between her thumb and forefinger. A swirl of beautiful blue mist rose from her fingertips.
Turning her head slightly, she spoke in a trembling voice.
“Look, maid.”
The maid quickly retrieved a piece of white silk.
“Master, may we try using this dye?”
“Of course. Merchants must test their goods.”
Quickly, Maeran handed over a bottle of water.
With permission granted, Mrs. Hong cautiously mixed the dye with water and dipped the silk.
After a short while…
“Wow!”
The silk, once completely white, now bore the faint but unmistakable color of iris silk.
“Amazing!”
Even Mrs. Hong could not hide her astonishment.
“Is it usable at this quality?”
“Absolutely! Ah, but the cost…”
Even the best dye is useless if too expensive. With merchants selling cloth at half price, this was a real concern.
“One ounce costs five silver coins.”
“What?”
That was only half the purchase price of iris previously. Mrs. Hong’s lips trembled.
Where could such a dye be obtained at this price?
“I would have taken a hundred times more, but that young one didn’t allow it.”
Namgung Mu-yeong, looking dissatisfied, pointed a finger. Hongseol was grinning.
“This little one is the one who brought the dye.”
Two days ago, Hongseol had requested a meeting with Namgung Mu-yeong.
Well, not exactly. She had merely asked for help via letter, and he had rushed over immediately.
Whether he wanted to make a mark on Hongseol, who was destined for greatness, or simply wanted to see her was still unclear.
“So, little one, you found a dye to replace the iris?”
“Yes. I wanted you, Elder, to take a look.”
Hongseol handed him a small bamboo box.
“What’s this…? Ah!”
Namgung Mu-yeong, opening the box without thought, flailed in shock, sending the box flying.
“No!”
Quickly, Hongseol climbed onto the table and caught the bamboo box midair with one hand.
A result of her tireless external martial arts training.
She quickly inspected the contents and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Phew, lucky! It didn’t get lost.”
Namgung Mu-yeong’s face had gone pale as he pointed shakily at the box.
“What on earth is inside?”
“Indigo insects.”
Indigo insects?
Namgung Mu-yeong froze at the unfamiliar term.
“Yes, the indigo plant, also called Qing-dai…”
“You mean the plant used for dyeing dark blue cloth?”
Hongseol nodded vigorously.
“Yes! And these insects feed on the leaves.”
Namgung Mu-yeong frowned as he realized what Hongseol was implying.
“Indigo can produce a good dye, but it is entirely different from iris. Silk is a luxury, and even small color differences can drastically change its evaluation.”
“But…”
“I understand your desire to help the weaving guild, but indigo can never replace iris.”
“It’s not just indigo—it’s indigo insects.”
“What?”
“These insects, after feeding on the indigo leaves, eventually excrete a liquid from their tails. That liquid is the exact color of iris.”
Speechless, Namgung Mu-yeong peered into the bamboo box.
Inside were droplets of the beautiful iris-blue liquid.
“Where on earth did you find this?”
“That, I cannot reveal until we make a deal.”
Hongseol’s determined words drew a groan from Namgung Mu-yeong.
“Is there enough of these insects?”
“Yes! They breed very quickly. There will be plenty left even after supplying the weaving guild.”
Impressed by Hongseol’s prompt reply, Namgung Mu-yeong said,
“Your information network seems quite reliable.”
“That’s right, my information network is the best!”
Hongseol winked toward a corner out of his view.
There, a group of mice huddled together.
‘Mr. Chik-chik’s family.’
They were the secret of Hongseol’s “information network.”
The pregnant mouse Seohan-eol had already given birth. Hongseol had stayed up nights caring for the baby mice, and now there were ten in total.
These ten mice scoured the surroundings day and night, and that was how Hongseol had found the indigo insects.
Of course, it was Hongseol who had instructed them to find them.
During her time in the small, empty room, watching the world outside had been one of her few hobbies.
If lucky, she could observe beetles fighting or overhear passing conversations.
And by chance, she had discovered…
‘that’ story.
