Xuanqing Guard

Back when Shen Hao lived in another world, he’d never been this rich and extravagant. Whether it was one thousand taels or ten thousand taels, it all looked pretty much the same to him—it made no difference.

If you like it, buy it. Otherwise, what’s the point of earning so much money? This was the very opposite of Xia Nu’s habit of "window shopping without buying."

"No, no, no! Master, how can you just—just buy everything? I—I don’t..."

"Shut up!" Shen Hao glared at Xia Nu, making her shrink her neck and go silent. "What else have you liked to come look at in the past?"

"..." Do you think I’m an idiot? Not saying a word! Xia Nu pursed her lips and stayed quiet, knowing that if she spoke up, her master would just go spending money all over again.

"Master, master, I know what Ms. Xia Nu usually goes to look at!"

"Yeah! Me too! I know too!"

Shen Hao patted the two little ones’ heads with a smile and said, "Good, take me over there. Whatever you want to buy later, just say it out loud—I’ll buy it for you."

"Thank you, Master!"

"Hehe! Master, you’re the best!"

You think the two kids are fools? Xia Nu liked saving and didn’t want to "waste money," but the two little ones didn’t even know what saving meant. Their monthly spending money was gone in a flash on snacks; if they wanted pretty clothes, they had to seize this chance. With such a high ranking Master, how could they possibly run out of money? Ms. Xia Nu, you’re kind of dumb.

So, under Xia Nu’s "menacing" glare, the two kids chose to ignore her, and trotted ahead to lead Shen Hao from shop to shop. They’d come to this Yuhua Street with Xia Nu many times before, and every time, she’d visit certain shops "just to have a look." The kids were already familiar with all of them.

From clothes to shoes to jewelry, even the small clothes you wear inside, they bought them all.

Naturally, Shen Hao wasn’t going to help carry things himself, and he wouldn’t let the Guard do it either. Instead, he flagged someone down and bought a handcart at the roadside, loaded everything up, and then had Xia Nu push it herself.

She’s a slave, after all. Can’t afford to pamper her too much.

Xia Nu wasn’t delicate either; she had all the strength needed to push the cart—with the two kids sitting on it, she could still move easily.

"Master, that shop up ahead is the ready-to-wear shop owned by Ms. Lin Xin’Er!"

They walked quite a ways down the street before they saw the shop Xia Nu mentioned earlier. The location wasn’t great, tucked that far down the alley, so there probably wouldn’t be too much walk-in traffic. But Xia Nu had talked about it often, and every time she brought up Ms. Lin Xin’Er’s shop, she’d get all excited, claiming business was always booming.

"Come on, we’re here. Let’s go in and have a look?"

As they got closer, Shen Hao noticed there wasn’t a "Red Silk Flower" hanging at the shop’s entrance. He looked at Xia Nu, puzzled: "Men can go in this shop too?"

According to local custom, if a shop had a curtain and a prominent Red Silk Flower at the entrance, that meant the shop was for women only—men weren’t allowed in. Like the lingerie shop they’d just been in; only Hong Chou and Brocade and Silk took the silver notes inside. When they came out, Xia Nu was hugging a red cloth bag to her chest, not letting anyone see, and even now that it was on the cart, she watched it like a hawk. Shen Hao was genuinely curious what kind of undergarment Xia Nu had bought, given her mortified expression.

"No, actually, Ms. Xin’Er’s shop sells men’s clothing too, and even children’s clothes!" Xia Nu set down the cart, but she didn’t seem at ease about the things on it. In the end, the new female Nursing Home guard agreed to watch over their stuff outside, and only then did Xia Nu beam with a smile and lead Shen Hao inside.

The moment he stepped in, Shen Hao realized he’d misjudged Lin Xin’Er’s shop. He’d thought it was just a small place—but it turned out to be huge, probably as big as the backyard of Shen Hao’s own home. And his backyard was spacious enough for him to perform Earth Escape—a pretty roomy spot, in other words.

Right at the door, a maid came over and headed straight for Xia Nu, greeting her with a big smile and calling her by name. Xia Nu beamed back, and even Hong Chou and Brocade and Silk jumped up to wave in greeting—clearly all old acquaintances.

But before the maid could get any closer, she caught sight of Shen Hao standing in the middle. She froze; after hearing Xia Nu call Shen Hao "Master," she was blank for a second—and then, like face changing, her face went instantly pale, her knees went weak, and her teeth chattered so badly she couldn’t speak.

This man was... Shen Shaxing!

The maid was actually the shop’s Steward, with powers on par with the Shopkeeper—one of the key people in Lin Xin’Er’s shop. Lin Xin’Er had redeemed her from the brokerage; though she technically had the status of a slave, because of Lin Xin’Er’s own experiences, she wasn’t treated like a servant at all, but as a sworn sister. Xia Nu herself was a Barbarian Race slave too, so naturally she and the maid were close.

The maid had heard before that Xia Nu was both a member of the famed Xuanqing Guard Black Banner Battalion’s Hundred Households Officer, Shen Hao’s household, and also Lin Xin’Er’s savior.

But the maid wasn’t Lin Xin’Er, nor was she Xia Nu. What she’d heard about Shen Hao had absolutely nothing to do with things like "mighty, handsome, gentle, elegant, righteous..." but everything to do with "fierce, cruel, ruthless, moody."

Never in her life did she expect to come face to face with the guy who could make children stop crying at night with his name alone.

"This slave... this slave greets Lord Shen!"

Shen Hao was used to it. By now, anyone who’d ever heard his name showed this scared-to-death look when they met him, and he barely felt anything about it. After all, he worked in the Black Banner Battalion—it was normal to offend people, act tough, and be "like a butcher."

But not feeling anything didn’t mean Shen Hao would be particularly nice to you. If you’re shaking in your boots at the sight of me, why the hell would I bother being nice?

He ignored this slave’s formal greeting, clasped his hands behind his back and strolled inside. Xia Nu helped the maid up and followed, while Hong Chou and Brocade and Silk skipped on ahead leading the way, saying there were a bunch of pretty dresses here they liked too.

The two little ones were definitely the happiest today—shopping nonstop, it felt like Blue Moon Festival had come early. Before winter hit this year, they’d have nothing to worry about when it came to new clothes.

"Master, there are men’s clothes here too, do you want to have a look?" Xia Nu really didn’t want Shen Hao to spend any more money on the two kids. Just watching him spend this trip made her heart ache—it was pure waste. But if it was for Shen Hao himself, Xia Nu would never see it that way—even a jug of wine costing ten thousand taels would seem worth it to her.

How could spending on the master ever count as wasteful?

"No need, I’m not interested in clothes. I’ll just take a look around." So saying, he turned to the maid who’d finally recovered and said, "Go with these two little ones and help them pick out some clothes."

"Yes, yes, Lord Shen." The maid couldn’t wait to get away, taking advantage of leading Hong Chou and Brocade and Silk off, planning to go notify the Master as well. She was still scared, worried her status as a slave would make Shen Hao feel slighted.

Looking all serious, Shen Hao leaned close to Xia Nu’s ear and asked quietly, "So, what kind of undergarment did you buy?"