At this moment, Duan Xifeng, clad in ink-black robes, and the ethereal Bai Laotou pushed open the door and entered.
When they arrived, Duan Xifeng held a portrait, while Bai Laotou brought along some medicinal herbs and tools.
Seeing this, Gu Qianying stood up, moved aside, and cleared some space for Duan Xifeng and Bai Laotou. She then said to them, "You two stay here and focus on the surgery. I'll go rescue the person first."
Duan Xifeng and Bai Laotou simultaneously looked at Gu Qianying. Their expressions were exceptionally serious. One nodded, and the other said, "Alright, go quickly and return soon."
Gu Qianying walked into another room. When she emerged, she was wearing men's robes and had disguised herself as an ordinary man. She held the hilt of her sword and turned to walk out.
At this moment, within the Slave Market,
Many maids and servants who had been sold off were confined in iron cages, two or three to a cage. In this manner, three iron cages were placed on the stage in the main hall. Some of the people imprisoned within these cages had already suffered extraordinary torment and had become mentally deranged, while others were so frightened they hid in corners, clutching their heads and weeping softly.
Among these people, some had already been reserved by the madams of various households, while others were to be carefully selected by the onlookers present.
Below the stage, the crowd of onlookers was vast.
Some wanted to find a few pretty girls among those confined in the iron cages to take back for amusement. Some needed to buy them to perform more debased acts. Others intended to buy them to be directly chopped up and served as meals for their pets at home.
"Yo! Look there, that little lass looks good. Tender skin and tender flesh. If I buy her back, she'd be good for warming the bed, or perhaps, I could take her back directly as a personal sex slave. Come, come, shopkeeper, this young master wants her!"
From the crowd, a slightly plump man dressed in a luxurious brocade robe, accompanied by two servants, emerged.
He gazed greedily at a thin woman in the fourth iron cage, her hair disheveled, and only two pieces of shame cloth wrapped around her. Although her face was smeared with some dirt, her handsome features were still discernible, especially her eyes, which appeared very spirited. However, whether due to prolonged torment or a powerful stimulus received beforehand, her spirited eyes were sometimes clear and sometimes vacant.
Upon seeing the person before him, the shopkeeper of the Slave Market's mouth stretched into a wide grin. "Young Master Wang, you truly have a discerning eye. This woman is a maidservant from the Gu Manor. The Gu Manor is related to the current Ninth Imperial Uncle. A maidservant from such a noble residence, though she has made mistakes, has still undergone professional training and understands the rules. I believe if she follows Young Master Wang back, she will obediently serve and dare not cause any trouble by Young Master Wang's side."
"Whether she's obedient or not doesn't matter. This master is buying her back purely for pleasure. Nothing else is important."
"Yes, yes, Young Master Wang is absolutely right. However, this little lass is pretty, and she's complete from head to toe, so the price isn't cheap..."
Before the shopkeeper could finish speaking, the person he addressed as Young Master Wang generously took out two silver notes from his embrace and waved them in his hand. "This young master has plenty of money. Are these enough?"
Looking at the silver notes in Young Master Wang's hand, the shopkeeper smiled so widely his mouth couldn't close. "Enough, enough, enough, it's enough, young master." As his hand reached out to take the silver notes,
Suddenly, a man of ordinary appearance walked out from the crowd. "Wait! I want this little lass!"
His voice was slightly high-pitched, and his tone was cold.
"Who are you? What kind of nobody are you to dare snatch someone from this young master? Scram, scram, scram, get out of the way! Do you, a lowly commoner, have the right to snatch the person this young master wants!"
Lowly commoner?
Gu Qianying frowned and looked at the person speaking to her, saying coldly, "And who are you? Your tone is so peculiar. Did you not rinse your mouth when you went out?"
Wang Xuanli, the eldest son of the Wang family, a dissolute young master who only knew how to eat, drink, whore, and gamble. Relying on a slight connection his family had with the palace, he acted arrogantly and recklessly in the capital.
His maternal grandfather had worked as an imperial chef in the palace for a few days. Due to some minor mistakes, he was dismissed and expelled from the palace. This slight, unrelated connection became a bargaining chip for the entire Wang family to brag about externally. The Wang family's eldest son, Wang Xuanli, was even more so, exaggerating when bragging and using it as a reason to forcibly seize virtuous women, causing great suffering to commoners who had no background and whose wives were beautiful.
These commoners dared not report to the authorities, nor did they have the ability to snatch their people back, so they could only swallow such bitterness alone.
"Audacious! You dare say this young master has bad breath? You blind, lowly commoner, do you know who this young master is? This young master is the young master of the Wang family. This young master's maternal grandfather was even..."
A long sword was suddenly placed at Wang Xuanli's neck, and at the same time, Gu Qianying took out the silver notes she had prepared and threw them to the shopkeeper beside her.
"Less nonsense! I'm taking this little lass!"
As she spoke,
Her gaze swept over the face of the thin little girl in the fourth iron cage. The hand that had just held the silver notes clenched tightly the moment it was lowered.
Her eyes filled with killing intent!
Damn it!
A simple-minded, innocent little girl was actually ruined to this state. These people here and those who bullied Lu Zhu truly deserved to die!
Suppressing the urge to raze this place to the ground, Gu Qianying constantly admonished herself internally. This place was built by Bai Qi's elder cousin, and Bai Qi was a favored subordinate of Nangong Mo. Judging by this, perhaps the true owner behind this place was Nangong Mo.
She urgently needed the identity of the Ninth Princess Consort right now, so no matter what, Nangong Mo could not be offended!
Her clenched fists slowly relaxed. Gu Qianying shifted her gaze away and looked at Wang Xuanli, her voice clear and cold, "Crippling your third leg or obediently rolling out, you choose!"
Her tone was extremely arrogant.
The onlookers reacted with various emotions: some gasped in surprise, some sneered, some feared, some retreated, their thoughts diverse.
"Mercy, great hero..."
Swish, swish!
A sharp dart flashed quickly from the gaps between the standing people.
Ugh!
The dart pierced Wang Xuanli's brow, his pupils bulging, and he fell to the ground, dead.
"Ah! Murder! Ah, Young Master Wang is dead!"
The crowd cried out in alarm, all looking at Gu Qianying. Someone among them pointed at Gu Qianying, "It was him, he killed Young Master Wang."
Gu Qianying, however, frowned coldly. She sheathed her sword, her gaze sweeping around the surroundings, her eyes icy.
She had never used darts before, and Wang Xuanli was not killed by her. Someone had hidden in the dark and killed Wang Xuanli with a dart, intending to make everyone believe it was her who committed the murder.
At this moment, servants from the Wang family, who had come looking for him, saw their young master dead in the Slave Market. They let out a frightened cry and then hurried to report to the authorities. At the same time, they rushed back to inform their master.
A moment later, several constables arrived. The leader was a tall, thin man with a scar on his face. "Who killed someone?"
The crowd remained silent, but everyone's eyes were fixed on Gu Qianying.
The leading constable looked at Gu Qianying. "Kid, you dare kill the Wang family's young master in public? You've got guts."
As he spoke, he ordered the people behind him, "Come, take this person away!"
Two constables stepped forward. Gu Qianying did not move, but her hands beneath her sleeves were already prepared.
At this moment, seen as a man due to her disguise, even if she fled now, it wouldn't attract unnecessary trouble.
However, she understood very well that she might have been framed. So, who was the person who framed her and knew her whereabouts?
Nangong Mo? Duan Xifeng? Or someone else?
While still lost in thought, suddenly over a dozen guards rushed in, holding swords, and stood on either side of the crowd. A man dressed in a large red python robe alighted from a sedan chair and walked over.
The crowd held their breath and immediately knelt. "Your subjects pay respects to the National Preceptor."
"Hmm."
Saying this, someone respectfully brought a chair for Ouyang Qinglin, who sat down with a flick of his sleeve, exuding a powerful aura.
At this moment, upon hearing that a murder had occurred, the local official in charge of this area, hearing that the National Preceptor Ouyang Qinglin was present, hurried over.
Upon arriving at the scene, he wiped his sweat and cautiously asked Ouyang Qinglin if he had any instructions.
Ouyang Qinglin remained silent, only looking at Gu Qianying and smiling charmingly. "You little rascal, I only asked you to come and pick a few good-looking young girls to take back and skin them to make fans. And you, you knocked someone out here. You're truly mischievous and love to cause trouble. What should I say about you?"
His reprimand carried a tone of strange affection.
This caused everyone to freeze in astonishment.
What was the relationship between this young man and the National Preceptor?
Moreover, they deliberately said that the deceased had been knocked out, a reason so bizarre that they dared not refute it.