After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

On the return journey in the carriage, Liu Ying couldn't help but ask Lu Zhiyuan why he still needed to use Manager Lu. After all, he was a relative of the Marquis, and it was inevitable that he would be biased towards the Marquis and the Lu family.

Lu Zhiyuan didn't think that way. In her view, interests far outweighed emotions between people. Manager Lu was capable, loyal, and grateful—that was enough.

Reopening a rouge shop requires more than just a manager; it also needs articulate sales staff and perceptive young women skilled in makeup. She could teach them, but she couldn't spare that much energy.

In the end, it was the original owner's body that was so useless.

Just as she was fretting, she suddenly heard Firefly say, "Miss, would you like to go see the excitement? They say a new batch of goods has arrived at the slave market over there."

"new goods?"

Lu Zhiyuan didn't react at first, but after Liu Ying's explanation, she realized that the so-called "new goods" referred to the slaves who had been trafficked. Among them were those who had been abducted, those who had been sold by their families, those whose families had committed crimes, and prisoners of war sent from the border.

Those who can engage in such transactions all have connections in the imperial court. For example, the slave market near the capital city is owned by the King of Qi.

"Prince Qi? The Emperor's muddle-headed younger brother?"

Lu Zhiyuan vaguely remembered that such a person was mentioned in the original plot, but unfortunately her attention was focused on the romance between men and women, and she didn't remember much about the plot related to Prince Qi. She only knew that he was the emperor's youngest brother, so she was a bit confused.

Liu Ying stood on tiptoe and said, "These royal family members, especially the current emperor's brothers, are not fools who have survived to this day. The foolish prince is just putting on an act for outsiders. These words were not spoken by me, but by the eldest young master to the second young master. I overheard them from the side of the wall."

Lu Zhiyuan pinched her cheek: "You really dare to eavesdrop on anything."

Liu Ying said indifferently, "This servant is absolutely loyal to the Xie family, and I only say this in front of Miss and Madam. As for others? Don't even think about getting me to say it."

Liu Ying was a few years older than her, but she still had the mind of a child. On the other hand, she had the body of an eight-year-old but the soul of a twenty-something-year-old, making her practically the "Heavenly Child Granny" of the transmigration world.

The slave market was semi-enclosed, with no entry requirements or age restrictions, but personal information was required. Liu Ying pulled out the jade token from her person and handed it to the gatekeeper. Seeing that she was from the General's Mansion, the gatekeeper immediately made way.

The market was filled with vulgar language, but Lu Zhiyuan didn't think much of it. Liu Ying blushed and would occasionally try to cover Lu Zhiyuan's ears.

There were many people buying slaves, a dense, dark mass, but thankfully there was order amidst the chaos. Every few steps, you could see someone dressed like the guards at the gate. No one paid any attention to the two richly dressed young girls appearing in such a place.

Above the crowd was a rectangular platform with several iron cages in the middle. On both sides and behind the cages stood many slaves of different genders and ages, dressed in various styles of clothing, mostly young people in their teens and twenties.

“Miss, look at the cages, they’ve picked out the best ones.” Liu Ying stood on tiptoe. “Those female slaves are so beautiful. Miss, would you like to buy a few to take home as maids?”

It's a waste to make them into maids; they could be bought and used as a storefront for a reopened rouge shop. His gaze swept across the faces of the female slaves, finally settling on the third-to-last cage.

Inside the cage was a boy, about the same age as Firefly, around thirteen or fourteen. His hair was messy, and his face was dark. It wasn't his natural skin color, but rather filth. Through that filth, you could see that his features were very defined; he was a rare and handsome boy.

His arms were bound with iron chains, and there were still unhealed whip marks. He was a stubborn and unyielding child.

What truly caught Lu Zhiyuan's attention wasn't any of that, but rather the thing around his neck—a leather collar with a broken wolf tooth hanging from it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, open your eyes wide and don't hesitate if you see someone who catches your eye." A scantily clad, charming woman walked to the front of the stage, fanning herself with a fan. "It's about to begin! Remember to take out your silver notes and shout it out loud."

The woman swayed her hips as she stood aside: "The first one is a young lady from a scholarly family. Her father was demoted to slavery because of a crime. She is seventeen years old, fair-skinned, beautiful, intelligent, and sensible. Look at her face and figure, she would be perfect as a concubine."

The woman in the cage hugged her knees tightly, not daring to look at the eyes of those below the stage who seemed to want to devour her.

Lu Zhiyuan asked Liu Ying, "How do we buy these slaves?"

Liu Ying watched with great interest, waving her hand and saying, "The highest bidder wins."

Lu Zhiyuan frowned: "What price is considered high? Ten taels, one hundred taels, or one thousand taels?"

The fat man next to him said, "The starting price is ten taels, and it increases by ten taels with each bid. Someone with this kind of looks won't fetch more than one hundred and fifty taels. Young lady, do your family not know you're here?"

Lu Zhiyuan asked with a sincere expression, "How much would it cost to buy them all?"

"Buy them all?" The fat man was taken aback by the question, and chuckled, "It'll cost at least five thousand taels! Little girl, you probably don't even have five taels of silver, do you? Hurry home so your parents won't worry."

Lu Zhiyuan sighed.

She didn't actually have five taels of silver; all she had were silver notes, the smallest denomination being one hundred taels.

I happened to have five thousand taels of silver with me when I went out today.

Firefly held up the silver notes and shouted, "I want them! I want them all! I want them all in the cage!"

"Young lady, this isn't a place for jokes." The woman on the stage leaned down to look at Liu Ying: "Are you sure you want both?"

"I am not sure."

Upon hearing this, the woman on stage instantly changed her expression, and the thugs lurking in the crowd gathered in their direction. Before they could get close, Liu Ying pointed to Lu Zhiyuan beside her.

"My young lady is certain."

The woman raised her fan, signaling the thugs to stay put, and asked in a sultry voice, "Who is your young lady? Do you know how much the slaves on this stage are worth? Young lady, I advise you to think carefully before you answer."

Liu Ying scoffed, "What's there to think about? I know who my young lady is."

With his hands on his hips and chest puffed out, he said, "My young lady's surname is Lu, and she is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Pingnan. My lady's surname is Xie, and she is the legitimate daughter of the General's Mansion. I have five thousand taels here. If it's not enough, you can send someone with me to the mansion to get it. Whether it's the Marquis of Pingnan's Mansion, the General's Mansion, or the Vice Minister's Mansion, they won't shortchange you a single coin."

The woman gave a look, and immediately someone stepped forward to verify the silver note in Liu Ying's hand. After confirming that it was genuine, the woman waved her fan and asked, "This money wasn't stolen, was it? We don't refund money here once it's exchanged."

Liu Ying rolled her eyes: "A mere five thousand taels, why would you need to steal it? Didn't you hear who my young lady is?"

The woman smiled ingratiatingly, "Listen carefully, we have to ask again according to the rules."

The woman covered her face with her fan: "I heard that this Miss Lu was sent to a separate courtyard as soon as she was born. I wonder when and on what day she returned to the Marquis's mansion? If Miss Lu buys these slaves, where should they be sent? Why don't you leave an address so we can send them to your door?"

“Sister, there’s no need to keep testing us. Verifying our identities is simple, and we don’t need to joke around with you here. Slave trading is still trading; money for people. As long as the money is real, why worry about where the people are?”

Lu Zhiyuan pointed to the cage: "I only want the ones in the cage."