Chapter 282

Jiang Xiaoxiao's casual words of comfort to Yu'er were overheard by Yu Ying'er.

She suddenly snapped to her senses; that was it, they must have spent the silver rewarded to them by Su Wanwan!

Otherwise, where would these two bumpkins get the silver to eat at such an expensive Zuifenglou Restaurant?

This Zuifenglou is the most expensive restaurant on the entire Xuzhou wharf; even she has never been inside to eat, and it is said that the restaurant's chef's ancestors were Imperial Chefs, having studied the culinary arts for generations, and that superb skill makes everyone who has eaten there unable to forget it...

Perhaps to eat this one meal, they have already spent all the money they had on them!

Thinking of this, Yu Ying'er couldn't help but feel smug again.

This mother and daughter have no money yet still want to act like big spenders by tipping the waiter; hmph, she wants to see how they will manage in the coming days when they have no money left.

Jiang Xiaoxiao did not know what Yu Ying'er was thinking; she walked straight past Yu Ying'er and called out to Bai Xiansheng, who was walking alone ahead in a daze.

When Bai Xiansheng saw them, he was very surprised: "Xiaoxiao, I didn't expect to meet you here..."

Jiang Xiaoxiao saw the undisguised decadence on his face and asked worriedly: "Uncle Bai, why are you here alone? Did something happen?"

When they got off the merchant ship, Bai Xiansheng's state was still fine, but ever since they parted at the medical hall, how did he become like this?

Jiang Xiaoxiao was very puzzled.

Bai Xiansheng opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to explain, but upon seeing Yu'er and Yu Ying'er's group on the side, he swallowed the words back down.

"Just encountered a small matter, no need to worry." He forced a smile.

Seeing him like this, Jiang Wei couldn't help but frown, but she didn't ask further, only saying: "Then let's take a walk together; it just so happens we are going to a place."

Bai Xiansheng nodded.

He understood Jiang Wei's meaning.

He also knew what happened in Yong'an County; the Jiang family had important business to attend to in Xuzhou.

Since the mother and daughter were in Xuzhou for the first time, it was inevitable they would be unfamiliar with the place; having him accompany them could save them a lot of trouble.

Yu Ying'er listened from the side, her eyes darting around; she looked at Jiang Wei, then at Bai Xiansheng, a flash of contempt crossing her eyes.

But on the surface, she smiled and said: "I don't know where Lady Jiang is going, but although this is my first time in Xuzhou, I generally know some of the roads. Wherever you want to go, I can take you."

Her tone carried a sense of complete superiority.

Jiang Xiaoxiao glanced at her, not wanting to pay her any mind at all.

Jiang Wei didn't even look at her, simply taking Jiang Xiaoxiao's small hand and saying to Bai Xiansheng: "Then I'll trouble Bai Xiansheng to lead us to the Central Imperial Street."

Bai Xiansheng agreed and led the way in front.

Yu Ying'er, however, was stunned.

Central Imperial Street is the most prosperous and wealthy street in Xuzhou, where every inch of land is worth an inch of gold; nothing sold in any shop there is cheap.

Refusing to believe it, she grabbed a little maid beside her and followed.

She wanted to see what this mother and daughter from the countryside were going to do in such a place; could they be looking for some wealthy relative?

Seeing this, Yu'er had no choice but to follow.

Thus, the group marched imposingly toward the largest and most prosperous Central Imperial Street in Xuzhou.

Soon, the group arrived at Central Imperial Street.

It truly lived up to its reputation as the busiest and most prosperous street in Xuzhou; both sides of the street were lined with tall buildings, houses standing row upon row, with tea houses, wine shops, antique stores, clothing shops, rouge and jewelry shops, and so on.

On both sides of the bustling street, there were also many food stalls hawking their wares.

Jiang Xiaoxiao remembered that among the stack of shop deeds Lord Xie had given their family, there was a rouge shop.

It seemed to be called... Meirenzhai.

It specialized in selling skincare products commonly used by women, such as rouge, face powder, bath beans, soap pods, and scented powder.

Not long after walking, Jiang Xiaoxiao spotted the shop named Meirenzhai.

The storefront was large, and the golden nanmu sign had the three characters "Beauty Studio" written in a bold, sweeping calligraphy; lanterns were hung on both sides of the door, shimmering with light and attracting the gazes of passersby.

"Mother, that shop should be it." Jiang Xiaoxiao tugged on her mother's sleeve and whispered.

"Let's go in and take a look."

No sooner had Jiang Wei finished speaking than Yu Ying'er, unable to contain her excitement, grabbed a little maid and rushed into Meirenzhai.

Loving beauty is a woman's nature; passing by such a large rouge and powder shop, no woman could resist the temptation, and even if they didn't buy anything, they would want to go in and take a look.

The mother and daughter entered the shop and immediately felt the fragrance wafting through the air; looking around, the interior was elegantly decorated, with exquisite calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls, showing great style.

At this moment, Yu Ying'er was already leaning over the exquisite cabinet, selecting from the rows of lip balm inside.

Lip balm is ancient lipstick, usually used together with rouge, stored in small boxes or jars, and applied directly by dipping with a finger.

The lip balm displayed in the cabinet came in a rich variety of colors: bright vermilion, true red, and a more subtle sandalwood color...

The person receiving Yu Ying'er was the shopkeeper.

Seeing her wearing a maid's outfit, the shopkeeper assumed she was a maid from some wealthy household out to buy rouge and powder, and was very attentive.

"Get me a box of vermilion." Yu Ying'er enjoyed the shopkeeper's fawning attitude and pointed to a box of lip balm inside.

Seeing Yu Ying'er ask directly for the most expensive lip balm, the shopkeeper's face instantly blossomed into a smile: "Miss, you have a great eye; this box of lip balm is our best seller, it only costs fifteen taels of silver."

"Fif-fifteen taels of silver?!" The smile on Yu Ying'er's face stiffened.

She had thought the things here would be expensive, but she hadn't expected them to be this expensive!

For just this tiny box of lip balm, the price was almost catching up to the cost of living in the capital.

"Miss, do you still want it?" Seeing Yu Ying'er hesitate, the smile on the shopkeeper's face immediately faded.

Yu Ying'er couldn't stand being looked down upon, so she immediately took silver out of her pouch, her tone sharp: "Want it! Why wouldn't I? Give me a box of that eyebrow powder over there too."

Eyebrow powder is something ancient women used to draw their eyebrows, made of a dark green mineral; when drawing eyebrows, the powder is ground on an inkstone and mixed with water.

Of course, these were things only used by wealthy families, and the price of this box of eyebrow powder was no lower than the lip balm from before.

If girls from poor families wanted to draw their eyebrows, they mostly used burnt willow branches.

Jiang Xiaoxiao's gaze followed the rows of ancient cosmetics—rouge, face powder, lip balm, flower decals, lipstick paper, forehead yellow... finally landing on the face powder.

Face powder was also a type of ancient cosmetic, mainly applied to the face to decorate and whiten the complexion.

Looking at this familiar color, Jiang Xiaoxiao suddenly thought of Li Xiufen's disfigured face.

She frowned slightly and pointed to a box of face powder: "Uncle Shopkeeper, can you let me see a box?"

"Go, go, go, what does a little yellow-haired girl know? If you aren't buying anything, why are you looking around blindly in my shop?" The shopkeeper waved his hand impatiently.