Chapter 52: The Young Master and Lady's Domain Is Astonishingly Vast

"What style or type is the young master looking for?"

Gazing at the dazzling array of colorful garments before her, Haitang could not help but ask.

"Um... just something ordinary will do," Xu An replied.

"I haven't met your wife, so I wouldn't know which styles to recommend. However, if the young master really cannot make up his mind, you could choose this particular design and color."

Haitang's pretty peach-blossom eyes swept over the rows of garments on the rack before suddenly pointing to a long purple dress.

"Both the color and the style are versatile; it would suit a woman of any temperament."

Since this was bought specifically for Mu Qingqing, Xu An didn't mind. He looked toward the proprietress tending to another customer and asked, "How much for this one?"

"Young master, a style like this—whether in its design or the fabric and workmanship—is extremely refined. If you genuinely want it, let's call it five hundred wen."

"Proprietress, the fabric you're using is as ordinary as they come. At most, it's worth one hundred and fifty wen!"

Before Xu An could speak, Haitang abruptly chimed in.

"One hundred and fifty wen? My dear young lady, you drive a terribly hard bargain! At one hundred and fifty wen, I wouldn't even cover my costs!"

Hearing this figure, the proprietress was momentarily stunned, taking quite a while to react.

A garment priced at five hundred wen was slashed in a single breath to one hundred and fifty wen. Had Haitang not been dressed so brightly with valuable jewelry to boot, the proprietress would have suspected she wasn't bargaining at all, but simply here to cause trouble.

Xu An was also somewhat bewildered by Haitang's naming of the price. When other people haggled, cutting the price in half was already considered ruthless, yet she had slashed off well over two-thirds of the cost!

"Proprietress, I'll add fifty wen at most—two hundred wen. If you're willing to sell at that, we'll continue buying; if not, we'll take our leave and buy elsewhere." Haitang wore an indifferent expression.

"Two hundred wen won't do; it doesn't even cover my cost," the proprietress shook her head.

In her heart, she grew even more convinced that these two were a wealthy young master and his maidservant, out to while away a boring afternoon by toying with people. At the same time, a trace of disdain toward Haitang welled up within her.

A maid is always a maid and will remain a maid for the rest of her life—completely lacking in grandeur. No matter how brightly she dressed, she could never conceal the humble baseness deep in her bones.

"If you won't sell, then forget it. Young master, let's go!"

With that, Haitang grabbed Xu An's sleeve, turned on her heel, and made to walk out.

"Ah... my lady, young master, wait! Raise it by eighty wen—raise it by eighty wen and you can take it," the proprietress called out hastily upon seeing them actually leaving.

"Thirty wen!" Haitang turned back and said, "Any higher and we won't take it."

"Alright, two hundred and thirty wen it is. Take it with you. I'm taking a loss on this sale, but next time, be sure to bring your friends to my shop."

The proprietress put on a look of acute distress, yet her hands moved with extreme agility as she packed the clothing.

"My lady, young master, have a look and see if there is anything else you need. The undergarments, shoes, and the like in our shop are all fully stocked—feel free to browse." The proprietress handed the neatly wrapped clothes to Haitang.

"Then let's buy a chest binder as well," Xu An said.

In the Great Wei dynasty, the undergarments worn by women were commonly referred to as chest binders, though they were nowhere near as diverse as those in modern times. There were no lace trims, leopard prints, magic push-up cups, or front-clasp designs whatsoever. Comfort remained paramount, with cotton binders being the mainstay. Naturally, wealthy households would opt for custom-made pieces crafted from breathable, fine-textured silk blended with superior fabrics. However, the price for those was exorbitant—far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

"Then... I wonder what size the young master requires?" The proprietress cast a peculiar look at Xu An, followed by a deeply meaningful glance at Haitang.

"Proprietress, there's no need to look at me; the young master isn't buying this for me." Haitang glanced at Xu An, then gave a dry cough as she spoke.

Hearing this, the gaze the proprietress directed at Xu An grew even more enigmatic. Normally, intimate apparel of this sort was purchased by women themselves so that the sizing would match properly and ensure comfort. For a grown man to come buy such intimate items could no longer be described as uncommon—it was downright rare, something one might not encounter even once in several decades.

Xu An cared not a whit about what the proprietress was thinking; he only wanted to finish his errands quickly and leave. Having wasted a good deal of time at the Drunken Moon Pavilion, he feared Li Er-zhuang was already waiting for him at the city gates.

"Get a Ting-grade extra-large," Xu An said.

"What? Ting-grade, and extra-large at that—are you certain, young master?"

Upon hearing this, both the proprietress and Haitang wore expressions of astonishment. It was no wonder they were shocked; in the Great Wei, Ting-grade corresponded roughly to a modern D-cup, and an extra-large Ting-grade meant a D-plus. Within standard bodily proportions, women blessed with such a scale were practically nonexistent in Linyuan County, let alone among the tens of millions of people across the entire You Prefecture.

Haitang looked down at her own chest. She was a Ping-grade extra-large, which was already quite prominent and rather rare. She had never expected the young master's wife to be a full size larger than herself.

"Naturally certain."

Recalling the magnificent scale of Mu Qingqing's figure, Xu An spoke with absolute certainty. Although he had never touched her, he had felt them against his back when he carried Mu Qingqing home on his shoulders. Moreover, since Mu Qingqing had been wearing a martial arts outfit at the time, the dimensions had already left a distinct impression in his mind.

"Then I wonder what color and material the young master would prefer?" Looking down at her own withered chest, the proprietress's face was filled with envy.

"As for the material, the standard sort will do," Xu An said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Young master, how about this one?" Haitang suddenly pointed to a pink chest binder.

"That works too. We'll take this one!" Xu An looked at the proprietress and asked, "How much silver?"

The proprietress glanced at Haitang and sighed. "Young master, just give me two hundred wen."

Haitang nodded toward Xu An, indicating that the price was fair.

After paying, Xu An had only seventy wen left to his name.

Stepping out of the draper's shop, Xu An looked at Haitang with a smile and said, "Haitang, I originally thought that people like you lived extravagantly and had no concept of money, but I never expected you to be such a fierce bargainer and such a shrewd shopper."

"The young master must not be so polite with me. You can just call me Haitang from now on," Haitang said, looking somewhat apprehensive.

She then continued, "What the young master described is indeed a common phenomenon. Most women who have fallen into the dust have resigned themselves to their fate, so they simply want to live comfortably for the moment and truly have no proper grasp of money.

"However, I do not wish to spend my entire life wallowing in that mire, treated as a plaything by men, only to meet a miserable end. That is why I save. Although on the surface we earn quite a bit, the expenses within the brothel are immense. Therefore, if I wish to scrimp and save, aside from practicing thrift in my daily life, I must also press prices down as much as possible when making purchases—at the very least, so as not to be taken advantage of too severely."

"Sinking in the mire yet striving toward the light—Haitang, you are remarkable, and I truly admire you," Xu An said sincerely with a smile.

Hearing these words, Haitang felt as though a powerful surge of strength had been instantly instilled within her, leaving her momentarily dazed!

When she finally snapped out of her trance, she could not help but say, "Young master, you keep addressing me as 'Haitang'—it makes me feel quite ill at ease. How am I worthy of such courtesy from you?"

"I told you, in private we are friends, yet aren't you still calling me 'young master'?" Xu An smiled.

"That's different... You are my benefactor!" Haitang murmured softly.

"Do not let such things bind you. From now on, you may just call me by my name, or call me Brother Xu—I should be a few years older than you," Xu An said with a gentle smile.

"Xu... Brother Xu?" Haitang looked up at Xu An, gazing at his sincere expression, and her spirit experienced a sudden jolt.

At that moment, her heart stirred with ripples like never before.