Chapter 60 Chapter 60 "Young...Young Marquis, he...please hurry..."
At first, the market did not see any bustling transactions. Merchants from both Dayong and Beiyi were not used to communicating with people of different ethnicities whose speech, mannerisms, and appearances were so different from their own. The barriers that had accumulated over decades could not simply disappear when they gathered in the same place.
A central plaza, like a galaxy, clearly divides the two sides.
Seeing this, Lu Mingzhu was getting anxious and was just about to be the first to "take the lead" and head from the Dayong Commercial District to the Beiyi Commercial District when a lamb suddenly ran wildly from the Beiyi Commercial District and crashed into Lu Mingzhu's knee.
He groaned and collapsed to the ground. The guards on either side stepped forward and held the lamb down. Merchants from the nearby Dayong gathered around to watch and started talking amongst themselves.
"This lamb looks really robust; it must be a fine breed!"
"The fur is thick and shiny, and the hooves are strong. The livestock raised in the Northern Barbarians are truly excellent!"
The lamb's owner came over, chattering in the Northern Barbarian language. The merchants who had just praised the lamb immediately surrounded him, gesturing wildly as they asked him the price.
Seeing this, the interpreter in the center of the square rushed forward to help translate. Many merchants who couldn't get a word in edgewise headed towards the Northern Barbarian trading area. A lamb knocked over the high dike between the two tranquil lakes, and they finally started to flow again.
Forgotten by the surging crowd, Lu Mingzhu stood there for a moment, then, feeling both helpless and amused, he pushed himself up from the ground.
Gu Chunwen came over and helped him up, laughing, "The princess was right when she said that misfortune could be a blessing in disguise. It's all thanks to the lamb that you were bumped into, otherwise the market would have been so lively."
"If it's that useful, it's worth being run over by cows and horses a few more times."
As Lu Mingzhu was joking, a northern barbarian rammed in from the side with several oxen. Gu Chunwen quickly reached out and pulled Lu Mingzhu's face away, the ox horns brushing against Lu Mingzhu's nose as they passed.
Gu Chunwen sighed helplessly, "Brother Lu, please be more careful with your words next time."
Lu Mingzhu pursed his lips tightly, looked around, and asked, "Where is the princess?"
“Look.” Gu Chunwen pointed.
The herd of cattle passed through the field of vision, revealing Feng Mian, who was enthusiastically communicating with a Northern barbarian merchant at a small stall behind them.
Today she wore a light green cotton blouse with narrow sleeves and a dark green cotton pleated long skirt. Her hair was styled in a simple bun with only an ordinary wooden hairpin, a completely ordinary person's attire.
Liu Ying and Wu Liu, who were beside her, had also changed their clothes and followed behind her like three sisters. No one around them realized that she was actually a princess.
"Young lady, please tell him for me that these tapestries together are worth five taels of silver, no more than that." The elderly merchant with white hair and beard pulled Feng Mian aside, asking her to "translate" his words to the Northern Barbarian merchant opposite him.
As the number of traders increased, the interpreters were too busy to keep up. Some older merchants, desperate and unable to get in line, resorted to grabbing any passing young people to communicate with the northern barbarian merchants on their behalf, thinking that younger people must know more.
Feng Mian was just casually strolling around, looking for some issues that could be improved, but because she was young and had an outstanding temperament, she was conscripted into the workforce.
She was gesturing to the northern barbarian merchants opposite her, conveying the older merchant's message, when an angry shout came from afar—
"grandfather!"
A boy of about ten years old charged forward like a raging calf, pulling the older merchant back several steps, and warily eyeing the Northern Barbarian merchants opposite.
"Didn't you say you only came here to do business with merchants from Dayong? Why are you wasting your breath talking to a northern barbarian here!"
"It's a rare opportunity, everyone's taking it, but you're hiding in the back. Isn't this money just being given away for free?"
"We still can't do business with them! How can you put aside the hatred for your aunt's family just to earn a few taels of silver!" The boy's chest heaved violently, his bloodshot eyes glaring angrily at the person opposite him, his teeth clenched with hatred, "These people are all murderers!"
The older merchant was speechless for a moment. The Northern Barbarian merchant opposite him was the old man from the Wind Whisper Tribe. He was somewhat at a loss and looked at Feng Mian with bewilderment.
Little Hadan, who was hiding behind him, peeked out with half his head, his little face serious and tense, and stammered in the Dayong language: "No, Grandpa, no, don't, kill!"
Feng Mian and the old man looked at Xiao Hadan in surprise, not expecting him to speak the language of Dayong, and even say such a sentence.
Perhaps an elder in the clan had mentioned similar words in casual conversation, and he learned them.
Feng Mian and his companions had considered this scenario many times, so they arranged for many people to patrol both sides, offering explanations rather than advice.
“None of the seven tribes that have come to participate in the trade today have ever raided the border people.” Feng Mian looked gently at the angry and sad young man and said softly, “They are just ordinary people struggling to make a living.”
The boy glared at her. "Are you trying to persuade me to let go of my hatred?"
"I have no right to advise you, but I just want to tell you that today's trade is to give these seven northern tribes a way to survive, so that they don't have to take up arms and surrender to the tribes that intend to provoke another war between Dayong and the northern tribes."
"If making a few deals could stop a war and save a few lives, what do you think?"
The boy remained silent, his fists clenching and unclenching.
The older merchant patted his head and deliberately said, "If I asked you to kill these defenseless old barbarian men and children here to avenge your aunt, could you do it?"
The boy snorted angrily and turned his head away, finally shaking off a tear that had been welling up in his eye. He suddenly felt a warmth on his hand and looked down to see Little Hadan, who had been hiding behind his grandfather, running to his feet and standing on tiptoe to reach his hand.
"What are you doing?" he asked impatiently, but he bent down and supported the little one who was swaying back and forth.
Hadan slammed his clenched fist into his palm, then opened his little hand and tossed out a piece of candy that he had been holding onto but couldn't bear to eat.
The boy stared blankly at the crumpled candy in his palm, remaining motionless for a long time.
Hadan was so anxious that she grabbed his hands with both of hers, helped him close his hands, and pushed him closer to her. At the same time, she glanced at Feng Mian, opened her mouth as if to eat candy, and asked her to translate for her.
Feng Mian suppressed a laugh, "He offered you candy to stop you from crying."
"Who's crying?" the boy muttered irritably, wiping his eyes as he gruffly asked his grandfather, "Hurry up, are you still going to buy the blanket or not?"
The older merchant snorted and chuckled, tapping his forehead, "You have no manners."
Feng Mian breathed a slight sigh of relief and naturally stepped back two paces, letting them negotiate among themselves. A younger boy had appeared, so there was probably no need for her as a "translator."
She turned her head and almost bumped into Gu Chunwen and Lu Mingzhu, who had been standing there unnoticed.
What are you doing here?
“The princess has been wandering around here for a while. Next, we should head to the Northern Barbarian Trading District. We’ll wait for the princess to go with us,” Gu Chunwen said, and Lu Mingzhu nodded in agreement.
Although they were accompanied by fireflies and willows, and surrounded by many guards, they were still worried.
Feng Mian did indeed think so. She nodded in agreement and was leading her suddenly larger group toward the Northern Barbarian Commercial District when she heard an argument coming from ahead.
"You're trying to fool someone by passing off a sick horse as a healthy one?!" A young horse dealer gripped the reins of a chestnut horse tightly, his face flushed with anger.
The northern barbarian horse merchant opposite him turned ashen-faced. His northern barbarian companion, who understood the language of Dayong, translated the young horse merchant's words for him. He was furious and shouted harshly, "You! Speaking ill of me! My horses are fine!"
His hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist, his eyes blazing with fury.
His horse wasn't chosen in the deal with the government, but it wasn't a sick horse!
Upon seeing this, the young businessman's guards and assistants immediately rushed forward, and the two sides drew their swords and began shoving each other.
Everyone around craned their necks to look, whispering amongst themselves. The air suddenly tensed.
"clang--!"
The sound of the gong suddenly exploded, drowning out all the noise.
Two heavily armored and armed guards escorted the landing commander as he rushed over.
Commander Lu's face was stern, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over both sides in the conflict. "Let's talk this out. Fighting is prohibited!"
Two imperial guards stepped forward and forcefully but fairly separated the two who were about to fight.
Fortunately, considering that there was a lot of livestock trading in the Northern Barbarians, several veterinarians were specially invited to oversee the market today. Commander Lu immediately sent someone to invite the veterinarians, and it was finally confirmed that the chestnut horse was just a little thin from the long journey and was not a sick horse.
The young horse merchant blushed with shame, clasped his hands in apology, and offered to pay an extra price to buy the chestnut horse. The northern barbarian horse merchant accepted the apology and insisted on the original price.
A storm was averted without a trace.
"In the memorial sent to Shengjing, you should praise Commander Lu a lot."
Seeing that Commander Lu had finished putting out the fire and then turned around to lead his men to chase after the lambs that had broken free of their ropes, keeping himself busy and handling everything personally, Feng Mian couldn't help but chuckle to the two people beside him.
"If we were also able to submit a memorial, we would certainly praise the princess profusely."
A female voice came from behind. Feng Mian turned around and saw a bright and beautiful figure.
"Madam Zhe! You actually came in person!"
The merchants participating in the trade fair did include shopkeepers from shops under Madam Zhe's name, but Feng Mian never expected that Madam Zhe herself would also come.
Madam Zhe approached with a smile. She wore a red silk blouse with dark embroidered intertwined floral patterns, over which she wore a light pine-colored long jacket. Her pleated skirt, embroidered with butterflies and flowers in gold thread, shone with gold with every step. As always, she was bright and flamboyant, making her stand out in the drab market.
"Since the princess personally initiated this trade fair, I naturally have to come and support it." Madam Zhe's watery eyes fell on Feng Mian with a smile.
If she initially gave the workshop to the princess to save face for the entire princess, now that she has come to this remote Black Stone Gully market despite the hardships, it is all for the princess's own sake.
She believed in the princess's thoughts and plans, and in the courage and vision hidden behind her seemingly frail figure. She was willing to take this gamble not to please anyone, but because she saw in the princess's eyes a possibility she had never dared to imagine, yet longed for.
"I originally wanted to invite you to come along, but I heard that something happened to Chairman Liang, so I didn't have the heart to come."
As the wife of President Liang of the Yunzhong County Chamber of Commerce, Madam Zhe wields considerable influence in the business world. Before Feng Mian arrived, he had thought that if she could make an appearance at the trade fair, she might be able to influence a group of people.
Madam Zhe smiled charmingly, her lowered eyelashes concealing her cold gaze, and said softly, "He doesn't care about the business under my management. I don't care about the troubles he gets into."
Her slightly coquettish tone made it seem as if she was sulking.
"Then, madam, you shall come with me..."
"Your Highness..." Mo Song ran up to him, but accidentally choked on the wind. He coughed violently and tried to finish his sentence, "Young...Young Marquis...You must go and see him!"
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