Xinyue was furious, extremely furious. How could anyone humiliate people like this? Perfectly fine women, with their skin and flesh exposed, were displayed on a platform like livestock, being led around. If they walked even slightly too slow, they’d get a lash of the whip.

Not only was she angry, but Xiao Ya, Xiao Wu, Xiao Miao, and the four girls named after the cardinal directions—Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei—were all bizarrely furious. Those damned Hu merchants didn’t treat people as human beings. Even when selling slaves, no one would lift up their clothes for everyone to see. How could the Great Tang have such a disgusting scene? The older servant women hurriedly covered these young ladies’ eyes, afraid of defiling their sight.

Those vicious-looking men continuously shouted various lewd remarks at the platform. Xinyue glared fiercely at Hypatia, who had led their group to the auction house.

Hypatia seemed completely unconcerned about the chaos at the scene, sitting leisurely in the private box drinking tea, occasionally whispering to Na Rimu beside her. From what she said, it sounded like she was commenting on the Hu slave girls’ figures.

Without warning, Xinyue gave Na Rimu a slap. What had she learned from following Hypatia around? Seeing Na Rimu obediently follow behind her with her head down, not daring to look at the Hu slave girls on the platform anymore, Xinyue’s anger subsided a little.

A Hu merchant with a white cloth wrapped around his head jabbered something unintelligible, and a female slave with only a single cloth wrapped around her body was presented completely bare before the crowd.

The enraged Xiao Wu picked up a plate and threw it at the platform. The merchant dodged with a sidestep—apparently this happened often, as he didn’t seem to mind. After bowing, he continued in broken Tang Chinese to introduce how snow-white this woman’s skin was and how beautiful her figure was.

“Xinyue, don’t be angry. The slave trade is just like this. This is the Great Tang, so they’ve already restrained themselves quite a bit. If this were in my homeland, it would be much worse. Look, you’re not the only noble lady in the venue. Those behind the gauze curtains are all the same—they can watch, so you can too. You should know that in the West, this is a privilege of the nobility.”

“Hypatia, no wonder my husband said you being thrown into the arena to fight lions wasn’t unjust at all. You don’t have any of the kindness that women should have. If you dare say any more strange things to Xiao Ya and Xiao Wu in the future, just try staying alive.”

Seeing that Xinyue was truly angry, Hypatia could only stick out her tongue and say quietly, “Let’s pick two to take back—consider it an act of mercy. In the West, they’re all lowly slaves. They might even be war slaves from Israel. That race is meant to be bought and sold—it’s original sin.”

Xinyue laughed with a snort, pointing at the dozen or so women in the venue and saying, “I don’t care about their original sin or whatever. Those people look similar to you, and two of them even have golden hair. I like looking at them. Buying them all to set free isn’t a big deal. Hypatia, this is the Great Tang. The Great Tang doesn’t have this practice of casually humiliating people. If there’s a grudge, one slash of the blade settles it. Even when the court executes criminal women, they hang a curtain! Old Zhao!”

Old Zhao hurried over, hands at his sides, waiting for the lady to speak.

“Buy all those women, bring them all home, not one less. Even those sold to others—buy them back. It’s just more money. If they dare refuse, send Dongyu!”

Soon after, Xinyue saw Old Zhao mount the platform with his protruding belly, followed by several guards, each holding a large piece of cloth. After covering the female slaves’ bodies, Old Zhao said to the slave merchant, “How many more are there? My household is buying them all.”

“That’s all of them. They’ve all been sold. If you want more, you’ll have to wait until the next ship arrives.” Seeing the Yun Family guards, the slave merchant already knew something was wrong, because Old Zhao was smiling very sinisterly.

“These female slaves have already been purchased by me. Brother, if you want some, wait for the next batch.” A tall, thin man stood up—judging by his appearance, he was also a steward-type figure.

Old Zhao didn’t even glance at the man. He lifted the curtain on the platform, looked behind it, and confirmed there really were no more female slaves, only then preparing to take these women out with satisfaction.

“Brother, we’re all Tang people. There’s a matter of first come, first served, right? My master wants this batch. You can wait for the next one.” The man rose from his seat and blocked Old Zhao’s path.

Not hearing the lady say to stop, Old Zhao pushed the person aside and continued walking out. When did the Yun Family ever need to wait for a “next batch” to buy a few female slaves? He was too lazy even to explain, especially since the man was dressed entirely in black—some country bumpkin nouveau riche. Explaining to him would be beneath his dignity.

The slave merchant rushed up, begging Old Zhao to return the female slaves. Seeing the hairy hand about to touch him, Old Zhao became furious and kicked out, striking the slave merchant’s shin. The thousand-layered cowhide boots were by no means light. The slave merchant howled and fell to the ground, shouting a long string of incomprehensible words.

The black-clothed man, seeing that Old Zhao gave him no face at all, called out. Immediately, over a dozen similarly black-clothed men rushed forward. The Yun Family never fought messy brawls. The guards pulled out hand crossbows from their lower backs and began shooting. Since this was in broad daylight in public, it wouldn’t do to kill people, so they all aimed for the thighs.

The black-clothed men were tough. Even with crossbow bolts in both legs, they still gritted their teeth and said, “If you’re true men, leave your names so I can spread your reputation.”

Hearing this, Dongyu laughed. He lifted up the black-clothed man and smashed his massive bald head into the man’s face, three times in succession, then casually tossed aside the mud-like black-clothed man and left the auction house following Old Zhao.

Ever since Yun Ye bought glassware at the auction house in Xinghua Ward, it had become famous. Soon, this buying and selling method was accepted by the great merchants of the Tang. Wherever there were cities, there were auction houses. Now the items being auctioned could be described as varied and strange beyond imagination—from the earliest rare treasures to precious jade and stones, famous calligraphy and paintings, porcelain and antiques, and then to bulk goods of all kinds. Now even people could be placed on the platform for auction.

Xinyue had enthusiastically brought her entourage planning to make a killing in Yangzhou today, shopping madly. Who knew that before she could buy the silk and cosmetics she wanted, they started selling people here, and in such a disgusting manner. Hypatia even said this was common in the West, which made Xinyue develop contempt for the entire Western world.

The women were all brought to Xinyue’s private box. As soon as they entered, they huddled together, cowering in a corner and trembling, not knowing what fate awaited them.

Hypatia knew Hebrew and said something to them. Those women then prostrated themselves at Xinyue’s feet, kissing her shoes.

“They say they eat very little, can do a lot of work, and can also weave carpets. They will definitely work hard and won’t dare be lazy, only begging that their master not sell them.” Hypatia said carelessly to Xinyue.

Xinyue had never heard such humble words before and was quite unused to it. She waved her hand and said, “Enough, a group of pitiful people. The Yun Family doesn’t lack that little bit of food from you, nor do we need you to work day and night. Just do your part properly.”

“Hey, Xinyue, slaves are meant to work. The more work they do, the greater your profit. In Egypt, waste is also original sin. Xinyue, you’re not a qualified mistress.”

“Stop bringing things from your place into the Great Tang. Whether I’m a qualified mistress is for my husband to say. Hypatia, do you really not plan to marry for your entire life? You’re already twenty-four. Look at me—my child is already five years old. How will you manage alone in the future?” Xinyue was always heavily guarded against the flirtatious Hypatia, wishing she would find someone to marry tomorrow.

“Haha, I’ve already married learning. For this lifetime, I’m wedded to books. When I’m alone immersed in books, I forget loneliness and desolation. Only when the west wind blows do I fail to catch the scent of my homeland, which makes me very sad. This time I insisted on coming to Lingnan just to see if, in Guangzhou, there might be merchants from the West who could carry news of my survival back to Egypt. How joyful those who love me would be.”

Xiao Ya paid no attention to the scheming between the two adults. She took a piece of mung bean pastry and handed it to a girl who looked very young. The girl hesitated for a long time, then at Xiao Ya’s encouragement, wolfed down the cake. She looked like she’d been hungry for a long time. The sympathetic Xiao Ya simply took all the snacks on the table and gave them to the female slaves, indicating they should eat them all.

Xinyue waited for a while. Seeing that the auction house owner seemed to have no intention of continuing the business, and no one came seeking revenge, she found it boring and ordered Old Zhao to go home. It was getting late, and her husband should be returning from Daming Temple by now.

She didn’t remember to pay the bill, and Old Zhao naturally forgot as well. The lady had bought many things today. Those people should come to the house to collect payment. When they did, he’d ask around—which bastard dared to talk nonsense? This household expenditure would fall on their heads.

Ever since hearing about what happened at the auction, Zheng Shuang had been laughing very happily. The sea merchants had now formed gangs to oppose him. Although the Zheng Family had connections in Yangzhou’s official circles, they were helpless against these desperadoes. For many years, these fellows had been pushing boundaries in Yangzhou’s markets, gradually monopolizing the sea goods trade. Even when his own family wanted some sea goods, they needed to negotiate with Qiu Ning. This kind of official-merchant relationship was completely abnormal.

The Yun Family was different. They were a Marquis household, full of fierce warriors who feared no death. Most importantly, the Lingnan naval forces had a battalion stationed here. Any sea merchant traveling by sea routes had to watch the Yun Family’s expressions. Now there was some clueless fool who actually dared offend Xinyue—that was courting death. She was a dignified court-appointed lady, whose rank was probably not much lower than the Assistant Governor. The incident in Chang’an where she used a guillotine blade on someone’s thigh had long become exemplary behavior among martial nobility wives. Not many people were unaware of it.

He would just watch the excitement. He’d skip the sowing of discord. Once Yun Ye discovered it, all his efforts would come to nothing.