A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 40

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 40
* * *
On a warm afternoon, sunlight streamed through the windows.
As I dozed in my chair, a gentle voice reached my ears.
“Young Miss, I hope you have been well?”
My eyes snapped open and I straightened in my seat.
The voice belonged to Lady Hong from the Fabric Shop. She had just entered my quarters to take measurements for alterations to my clothing.
“Yes, I have been well. But you, madam…”
I gazed at Lady Hong with evident concern.
The toll of her worries was written plainly across her face—her cheeks had grown hollow and sunken.
“About the iris dye situation… has it been resolved?”
“Resolved? Ha! Because of those scoundrels at the Myo Water Trading Company, both our Fabric Shop and the Weaving Workshop will close their doors after finishing your garment.”
The Seamstress who had accompanied her interjected, her sorrow so profound that she dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve.
“What are you doing! You mustn’t show such unseemly behavior before the Young Miss.”
Though Lady Hong tried to comfort her, the Seamstress could scarcely contain her grief.
“When I think of where all those poor women will scatter to… oh!”
“Enough now! My apologies, Young Miss.”
Just as Lady Hong bowed her head in apology,
I slipped from my chair and grasped the hem of her robe.
“Actually, I have found something to replace the iris dye.”
“Something to replace the iris dye? You mean you have found a blue pigment?”
Lady Hong asked in bewilderment.
“Yes. Please come in, Elder Judge!”
The door swung open, and Nam Goong Mu Young appeared, accompanied by two men.
One carried a bamboo basket, while the other held a bundle of papers.
As Nam Goong Mu Young stepped inside, he wrinkled his nose.
“This young thing orders an old man about without a care…”
I responded at once.
“B-but you came here for business, didn’t you?”
“And you dare speak back to your elder!”
Hehehehe.
His words were stern, but Nam Goong Mu Young was not truly angry. Having learned this through experience, I smiled knowingly.
“Young Miss, what is the meaning of this…”
Nam Goong Mu Young greeted the bewildered Lady Hong and Seamstress with a dignified voice.
“I am Nam Goong Mu Young, Elder of the Nam Goong clan and proprietor of a modest merchant guild here in Hefei.”
“Who in Hefei, nay, in all of Anhui Province, has not heard the name of the Mu Young Merchant Guild!”
Lady Hong and the Seamstress hastily bowed.
“I am Hong, madam. I operate a small fabric shop.”
“A pleasure. Today I have come not as Elder of the Nam Goong clan, but as proprietor of the Mu Young Merchant Guild.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I wish to supply Lady Hong’s Fabric Shop with a new dye to replace iris flowers.”
“How generous of you. However, achieving that particular iris hue is not so simple….”
“See for yourself first. Come here!”
The man standing behind Nam Goong Mu Young opened the bamboo basket he had been carrying. From within it, he withdrew a ceramic vessel containing a powder of such refreshing, luminous blue that it seemed to glow.
Lady Hong, accepting the vessel, found herself speechless.
“This is!”
Lady Hong carefully pinched a portion of the powder between her thumb and forefinger, rubbing it gently.
From the tips of her rounded nails, a beautiful blue shimmer rose like snow caught in winter light.
Lady Hong turned her head slightly, her voice trembling with emotion.
“Seamstress, come here.”
The Seamstress, quick to understand her mistress’s intent, swiftly produced a scrap of cloth from her sleeve.
It was a piece of white silk, untouched by any dye.
“Guild Master, would it be acceptable for us to test the dye?”
“Of course. Any merchant worth their salt must examine their wares firsthand.”
The perceptive Mae Ran quickly offered a small water vessel.
With permission granted, Lady Hong carefully dissolved the dye in water and immersed the cloth.
After a brief moment had passed.
“Ah!”
Those gathered gasped in admiration at the sight of the silk drawn from the dyed water.
The cloth, once entirely white, now bore a humble yet unmistakable iris silk hue.
“Remarkable!”
An exclamation escaped Lady Hong’s lips as well.
“This would be usable?”
“Usable? Absolutely! But the cost….”
No matter how excellent a dye, if the price is prohibitive, it serves no purpose. Especially not when the Myo Water Trading Company was selling fabric at half price these days.
“Five taels of silver per catty.”
“I beg your pardon?”
That was barely half the price they currently paid for iris flowers.
Lady Hong’s lips trembled slightly.
Where in this world could one procure such a dye at such a price!
“I would prefer to charge double, but that girl refuses to allow it.”
Nam Goong Mu Young, his expression one of clear displeasure, raised a finger. In the direction he pointed, Hong Seol stood smiling brightly.
“It was that child who procured this dye.”
* * *
Two days prior, I had requested a meeting with Nam Goong Mu Young.
No, that is not quite accurate.
I had merely written to him seeking assistance, yet he came rushing with remarkable haste.
Perhaps he wished to establish his connection early with someone destined to become a great figure.
Or perhaps he simply wished to see me—but I could not yet discern which.
“So, little one, you have found a dye to replace iris flowers?”
“Yes. That’s why I was hoping you could take a look, Elder Judge.”
Hong Seol held out a small bamboo case toward him.
“What is this… Ugh!”
Nam Goong Mu Young opened the case without thinking and recoiled in shock, flailing his hand.
The bamboo case went flying through the air.
“No!”
*Tap.*
Hong Seol nimbly leaped onto the table and caught the bamboo case in midair with one hand.
It was the fruit of her relentless external martial training.
She quickly examined the contents of the case and let out a relieved breath.
“Phew, thank goodness! I didn’t lose them.”
Nam Goong Mu Young’s face had gone pale, and he pointed at the case with trembling fingers.
“What on earth is inside that case?”
“Indigo insects.”
Indigo insects?
Nam Goong Mu Young hesitated at the unfamiliar name.
“Yes, there’s a plant called indigo—also known as qingdai…”
“You mean the plant used to dye navy-blue robes?”
Hong Seol nodded vigorously.
“Yes! They’re insects that feed on indigo leaves.”
Nam Goong Mu Young’s expression darkened as he grasped her intent.
“Indigo can serve as a dye, certainly, but its color is entirely different from iris. Silk is a luxury good—even the smallest color variation results in harsh judgment.”
“But…”
“I understand your desire to help the Weaving Workshop, but indigo can never replace iris.”
“Not indigo—indigo insects.”
“What?”
“After the insects eat indigo leaves, they secrete liquid from their rear after some time. That liquid is unmistakably iris-colored.”
Nam Goong Mu Young fell silent and peered into the bamboo case.
Inside, delicate iris-colored droplets glistened.
“Where on earth did you find these?”
“I can’t tell you that until we sign a contract, Elder Judge.”
*Ugh.*
Nam Goong Mu Young let out a groan at Hong Seol’s shrewd words.
“Is the quantity of indigo insects sufficient?”
“Yes! They reproduce incredibly quickly too. There will be plenty left over even after supplying the Weaving Workshop.”
Impressed by Hong Seol’s immediate response, Nam Goong Mu Young spoke with newfound respect.
“It seems your personal intelligence network is quite useful.”
“That’s right—my information network is the best!”
Hong Seol winked toward a corner hidden from Nam Goong Mu Young’s view.
There, a group of mice huddled together.
‘Chick-chick’s family.’
They were the true identity of Hong Seol’s ‘personal intelligence network.’
The pregnant mouse, Seo Han Eol’s wife, had long since given birth.
Thanks to Hong Seol staying up through countless nights to care for the baby mice, they had now grown into a family of ten.
These ten mice, having scoured the surrounding area day and night, had brought back this ‘indigo beetle.’
Of course, it was Hong Seol who had specifically asked them to find the indigo beetle.
During those days in the Storage Room, there were no toys to speak of.
Gazing blankly out the window was one of the few pastimes Hong Seol possessed.
On fortunate days, I could watch two beetles fighting, or overhear the gossip the servants were chattering about.
And it was by chance that I discovered it.
‘That’ story.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————