Chapter 269: Chapter 269. You Can’t See Mount Tai
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Su Qing raised her eyes and looked at the Empress walking down from the carriage. ’I’m right before you, but you don’t recognize me.’
Ji Shuisheng was anxiously waiting for Su Qing to return. He regretted not bringing an extra person with him this time. He wanted to look for Su Qing but couldn’t leave without someone to look after the goods. He anxiously looked in the direction Su Qing had left.
The Third Prince had come, but she didn’t come back? What was she doing? When she left, she only said she would look for the Third Prince.
Just as Ji Shuisheng was worried that something had happened to Su Qing, he saw the streets in chaos. Tartan soldiers holding swords and spears checked on young women in Tartan clothes.
Ji Shuisheng was alarmed and subconsciously thought of Su Qing. Were these Tartan soldiers looking for her?
As this thought flashed through his mind, he became even more worried. He did not plan to take care of the goods anymore. He would find a Tartan merchant with a simple, honest appearance and ask him to help care for them. When he returned, he would reward him a tael of silver.
The merchant agreed readily. Ji Shuisheng threw the cart and goods to him and prepared to look for Su Qing.
However, he was stopped by a man from Tartan with a curly beard. This man was wearing a leather robe and a sheepskin hat. Half of his face was covered in burn scars. He was about 40 years old, and his eyes were unusually bright. He stopped Ji Shuisheng from leaving and spoke in the Tartan language,
“I’m very interested in your black stone. We can have a deep discussion.”
“Another day. I have something urgent to do today.”
Ji Shuisheng waved his hand and refused. He wanted to find Su Qing and bypass this man, but he was stopped by him again. He looked like he wanted to make a deal with Ji Shuisheng. With a smile on his face, he said to Ji Shuisheng sincerely,
“The price is negotiable.”
Hearing that this man wanted to buy this black stone no matter how much it cost, the merchants in the market felt even more regretful. They would have made a considerable profit if they had not hesitated before.
“The goods are sold out.”
When Ji Shuisheng saw that this person was deliberately blocking him, his expression immediately darkened, and his voice carried impatience.
“After this batch of goods is sold out, there’s still the next batch.”
The Tartan merchant had an excellent temper. He was not angry at Ji Shuisheng’s impatient rejection and continued to pester him with a smile.
His half-smiling eyes gave Ji Shuisheng an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Just as he was about to ask, he saw a pair of Tartan soldiers running over with spears in their hands. They grabbed the daughter of a merchant in the market and shouted,
“There’s one here.”
The Tartan girl did not know what crime she had committed. She was so frightened that she trembled with a knife and held to her neck by the Tartan soldiers.
The merchant quickly approached the Tartan soldier and begged for mercy, asking what crime his daughter had committed.
“Get lost.”
However, the Tartan soldiers did not even bother to talk to him. They pushed him away and took away the poor girl who was so scared she could not walk.
Ji Shuisheng’s heart skipped a beat as he looked up at the bearded merchant opposite him. He saw that the man was smiling at him, and the expression in his eyes was extremely familiar.
“Since you’re interested in this batch of goods, let’s find a place to have a good talk.”
Ji Shuisheng was not in a hurry to leave. He cupped his fists and said to the man.
“Alright.”
The merchant smiled and followed Ji Shuisheng back to the carriages of goods.
Although Ji Shuisheng did not leave, since they had already agreed, even if the merchant did not help him look after the carriage, he would still take a tael of silver and hand it over.
“What do you want to buy?”
However, Ji Shuisheng did not expect the other party to speak to him in a tone that sounded like he was selling something.
“I’ll show you the fare.”
Ji Shuisheng replied with a frown. Seeing the craftiness and greed in the merchant’s eyes, Ji Shuisheng’s eyes flashed coldly.
Was he trying to cheat him of his goods?
“What about the fare? These goods are all mine, and the cart is also mine. I don’t need you to show me the fare?”
The other party continued to pretend to be ignorant—these people squatting in the market all year round formed cliques. From the moment this merchant wanted to refuse the goods, the other merchants surrounded them.
A Central Plainsman had been robbed in Tartan and had nowhere to seek justice. They were fearless and wanted to swallow Ji Shuisheng’s goods.
Ji Shuisheng glanced around and read everyone’s minds. He sneered and took out the waist token the Empress had given him.
“If you want to deny my goods, ask if you’re afraid of death.”
Seeing the waist token in Ji Shuisheng’s hand, these merchants did not recognize it. They looked at each other and guessed what it was.
Ji Shuisheng’s aura was too strong, and they did not dare to speak rashly. The merchant who wanted to rely on Ji Shuisheng for his goods was unwilling to accept this, and he did not believe that the waist token in the hands of a Han would be helpful in their Tartan Kingdom.
“Everyone, don’t listen to him. He might be a spy from the Great Xia Kingdom. If we catch him, we can even get a reward from the yamen!”
The moment he shouted, those people became spirited again and rushed over to capture Ji Shuisheng.
The bearded Tartan merchant in a leather coat stepped back. He looked at Ji Shuisheng with his hands behind his back like a wild crane in the clouds. He had no intention of helping at all.
Ji Shuisheng looked at him in amusement. When the Tartan merchants charged at him, he flew up and kicked them all away.
When the Tartan soldiers heard that another Han had beaten up their Tartan merchant, they raised their weapons and surrounded Ji Shuisheng.
Ji Shuisheng’s face was cold as he gazed across the crowd. His expression also changed from a scowl to respect. He raised the black jade waist token in the air. When he saw the waist token, the Tartan soldier hurriedly put down his sword and spear.
Ji Shuisheng pointed at the merchant who wanted to renege on his debt.
“This person wants to cheat on my goods.”
Those merchants still felt smug when the Tartan soldiers had just surrounded Ji Shuisheng. How dare a lowly commoner of the Great Xia Kingdom behave atrociously in their territory?
Just now, he was only keeping his goods. Now, he could forget about leaving Tartan alive.
However, they did not expect the soldiers to be so respectful when they saw the waist token. The merchants panicked. Could it be that they had met a big shot?
To curry favor with Ji Shuisheng, a small leader of the Tartan soldiers placed the knife in his hand on the merchant’s neck and rebuked him with a stern expression,
“You dare to cause trouble?”
“I don’t dare. 1 don’t dare to cause trouble.”
With a cold knife on his neck, the merchant was so scared that he almost peed in his pants. His legs went weak as he knelt on the ground and begged Ji Shuisheng,
“I was blind and offended you. Please forgive me.”
“Official, 1 had five carts of leather just now, but now only two carts are left. They stole three carts.”
Ji Shuisheng looked down at this Tartan who bullied the weak and feared the strong. If it were another merchant from the Great Xia Kingdom, he would have swallowed this batch of goods. Therefore, he was merciless when he attacked this merchant.
The merchant repeatedly cried out,
“How can there be five carriages of leather? Heaven and earth, how could I!”
The merchant crawled to the feet of the leader of the Tartan soldiers and pointed at the merchants present to plead for his innocence.
“Official, you can ask them. They can testify for me. There are only two carts of
leather..”
