Chapter 26: The Fox’s Tail Begins to Show

When Su Nuoli asked Xue Yu, the latter replied in a soft, hesitant voice, “I’ll come with you. I’m not sure what I should buy… I…”

Su Nuoli suddenly realized that with Xue Yu’s slow and indecisive nature, being exiled wouldn’t be easy for her. However, what could she do? She decided to look after her and directed her elder brother to head to the place where clothes were being sold first.

After inquiring, she found out that there was an embroiderer at the shop. She paid an extra two taels of silver to rush the creation of sixteen fabric pouches, insisting that they be sturdy. She was to pick them up in half an hour.

As it was almost November, the nights were getting colder. This time, she wouldn’t use space magic; she finally had a legitimate opportunity to prepare some warmer clothes.

She bought sixteen sets of undergarments, sixteen cotton-padded jackets, and thirty-two pairs of cotton shoes. As for the Xue family, she wouldn’t be taking responsibility for them anymore—since they had separated, it was time to keep things clear. Even though Xue Laoye was a decent man, he wasn’t foolish, and he had no silver to spare. It was also time to test Xue Yu a little.

Su Nuoli also bought some silk threads and had her brother change into the clothes right away, which helped reduce the number of jackets they’d need to buy.

The clothing for herself and her mother was light blue, while her father, grandfather, and brother wore dark blue. The servants, maids, and older women wore gray or deep purple.

After packing everything up, she turned to Xue Yu and said, “Xiao Yu, you must have been startled by me. Hurry up and buy what you need. Once we change into these clothes, we still have other things to buy! I’ll go change now.”

After changing clothes, she came out and noticed that Xue Yu now had a bundle with her. Su Nuoli thought to herself: it seems that Xue Yu truly didn’t know what to buy. She had misjudged her.

But as the events unfolded, Su Nuoli’s assumptions were swiftly proven wrong.

“You know, young lady, I told you that light blue would look perfect on you. Your face is lovely, and this color suits you wonderfully,” the shopkeeper said.

“Thank you for the compliment, shopkeeper. How much for all these items?” Su Nuoli asked, ready to settle the bill.

“The pouches are eight wen each. The undergarments you chose are made from the best materials—soft and absorbent, which makes them more expensive. The men’s cost 45 wen each, the women’s 30 wen. The cotton jackets, though the fabric is rough, contain cotton on the inside, making them quite rare.”

“The men’s are 220 wen each, and the women’s 190 wen. The shoes are 30 wen per pair. You didn’t buy many needles and threads, so I’ll consider that a gift for you. But remember to visit my shop more often in the future!”

“Also, this young lady bought two undergarments, same price. Four cotton jackets, all good quality, priced at 200 wen each. The four pairs of cotton shoes are also 30 wen each. Are you two together, or separate?”

Su Nuoli, feeling a pang of guilt for suspecting Xue Yu, was about to offer to pay for everything when Xue Yu interrupted.

“Shopkeeper, we came together,” Xue Yu said vaguely.

What did that ambiguous statement mean?

“Alright then,” the shopkeeper said. “I’ll give you a 3-wen discount on one of the items, making it a total of five taels of silver and one coin. The other one, only missing five wen, makes it exactly one tael. Together, that’s four taels and seven coins. Let me give you five wen change.”

Su Nuoli, still unsure, thought to herself: “Someone dares to pull a fast one on me? I’ll call them out directly.” She said, “Shopkeeper, I think you’ve misunderstood. We came together, but we’re not from the same family. This is my silver, and please count it again.”

If the shopkeeper thought she could take advantage of Xue Yu and her, she was wrong. Xue Yu wouldn’t cheat her either! “Right, sister?” Su Nuoli added, turning to Xue Yu.

“Uh… yes, this is my silver,” Xue Yu said slowly, handing over a tael of broken silver.

Su Nuoli felt both amused and frustrated. She probably gave Xue Yu the impression that she was wealthy after helping her family in the beginning. Now, the misconception had made her think she could take advantage.

But no, Su Nuoli’s money wasn’t so easy to steal. If she gave it, fine; if not, no one was getting a single coin!