Yun Guiwang looked troubled. "They were all tricked out and sold by Lu Yiyang. I'm afraid they've all been given contracts."

The spirit beasts on Fuchen Mountain are all at the transformation stage, making them an ideal choice for those outside looking for contracted spirit beasts.

Shu Jianyue frowned deeply. She had originally thought that Lu Yiyang had driven them away, but it turned out he had sold them out!

How long has Yi Dexi been gone, and he's already tricked all the spirit beasts on Fuchen Mountain into selling them?

Was he so sure they wouldn't come back?

Although those spirit beasts weren't taken back by her, they were all people from her Fuchen Mountain, so they were already considered her family.

And then, her family was sold off!

This is no longer a matter of saving face.

What would your reaction be if someone sold your family members?

Shu Jianyue said with a livid face, "Make him write down the whole list. If he can't, cut off one finger for each missing one. If ten fingers aren't enough, use his limbs."

"Yes." Yun Guiwang immediately went to interrogate Lu Yiyang.

Chong Jiu pulled Shu Jianyue into his arms and asked, "After finding those spirit beasts, what do you plan to do?"

Shu Jianyue leaned against him, frowning. "Those who are willing to terminate the contract can terminate it and come back."

"If they don't want to, then there's nothing I can do. This incident has taught them a lesson; they were so easily tricked into being sold."

Chong Jiu shook his head. "We can't blame them. Lu Yiyang is the manager of Fuchen Mountain. If they're asked to go out and do something, how could they refuse?"

Shu Jianyue sighed and asked, "If the spirit beast is willing to return, but the buyer does not agree to terminate the contract, is there any way to forcibly terminate it?"

Chong Jiu looked down at her, "It is possible, but only the spirit beasts will get hurt."

That's how unfair it is, since these constraints are all designed by humans and naturally favor humans.

Shu Jianyue naturally understood, and leaned against him as night fell.

Only then did Yu Chuan and Yan Xi return to Fuchen Mountain.

As soon as Yu Chuan returned, he went up to Shu Jianyue and asked, "Mother, I heard from Sun Xiuyun's father that the auction house has changed owners. What happened?"

"Is it what you heard? Why are you only coming back now?" Shu Jianyue sat up and pulled Yan Xi to sit next to her.

Chong Jiu glanced at Yu Chuan sideways, then moved slightly to the side to make room for Yan Xi to sit.

Yu Chuan glanced around and, seeing that he had nowhere to sit, could only take out a chair and sit down in front of Shu Jianyue.

“We had dinner at the Sun family’s house before we came back, otherwise we wouldn’t have heard about this.”

"I heard from Prime Minister Sun that the person who recently took over the auction house is a member of the Empress's family. Mother, are you aware of this?"

The Empress's family?

Shu Jianyue's brows twitched. "Did Prime Minister Sun say anything else?"

Yu Chuan nodded. "He said that everyone thought we would never come back after going to the Eight Desolations. They bought the auction house from Fuchen Mountain."

“Sun Xiuxian also investigated and found out that the Empress’s family had connections with Fuchen Mountain, so they didn’t find it strange that they took over the auction house.”

Shu Jianyue thought for a moment and asked, "What is this empress's surname, and what does her family do?"

Yu Chuan scratched his head. "I don't know about that."

Yan Xi suddenly said, "My surname is Li. My family was originally a prominent family in the capital of Fengxian Kingdom, but we moved away for some reason and only moved back two or three years ago."

"How did you know?" Yu Chuan asked, looking at her.

Yan Xi said irritably, "I heard it from Xiu Yun."

Shu Jianyue then thought of a family—the Li family, the evil cultivators who had escaped.

Looks like I'll have to go check it out. If it is, that would be interesting.

"Your rooms are all ready, go back and rest for a bit, we're going out for a bit."

Yu Chuan wanted to say he would go too, but seeing Chong Jiu's warning look, he could only silently swallow his words.

Without even asking where Shu Jianyue was going, Chong Jiu grabbed her and teleported directly towards the palace.

They didn't go to the inner palace, but went directly to the imperial study to see Emperor Zhu Yang.

Zhu Yang was taken aback when he saw the two of them, and immediately stood up and bowed, "When did you two Venerable Ones return to the Ten Domains? It's been a long time."

He naturally knew they had gone to the Eight Desolations; who in the Eastern Continent didn't know that?

Shu Jianyue and Chong Jiu sat down beside him and asked, "I wonder if Emperor Yang is aware of the change of ownership of the Cloud Sky Auction House?"

Zhu Yang immediately shook his head, "I haven't left the palace for a long time, so I'm not very clear about it."

"Isn't Yunxiao Auction House your property? How could it have changed hands?"

Shu Jianyue took out two cups of spiritual nectar and drank them. "You'll have to ask your good empress about that. It was her family, the Li family, that took over my Yunxiao Auction House."

"What?" Zhu Yang, who had just sat on the dragon throne, stood up in surprise.

"Your Excellency, is this truly the case?"

"Do I really intend to lie to you?" Shu Jianyue looked at him with a half-smile.

Judging from his expression and bewildered look, you could tell he genuinely didn't know.

It seems that Empress Li was a capable person.

Indeed, the Venerable One hadn't figured out why he was coming to find him. Zhu Yang's face turned pale. "Someone, summon the Empress."

“I truly knew nothing about this matter; otherwise, I would never have allowed them to offend me.”

Regardless of the circumstances, the fact that the Li family took over Yunxiao Auction House without reporting it indicates that they have ulterior motives.

Shu Jianyue lowered her eyes and drank the spiritual elixir. After hearing this, she chuckled and said, "Summon your Yue family members into the palace as well. I have something to ask them."

"Yes, I'll take care of it right away." Zhu Yang immediately ordered his personal attendant to personally summon the Li family to the palace.

Shu Jianyue glanced at Zhu Yang and, seeing that he hadn't made much progress in the past few years, shook her head and tossed him two spirit fruits.

"Is your palace so poor that you can't even afford to buy yourself a couple of Spirit-Nourishing Pills?"

Zhu Yang chuckled awkwardly, "Yes, but I don't know why, the Spirit Nourishing Pill works on them, but it doesn't work on me at all."

"I've eaten a lot over the years, but my cultivation hasn't improved at all. I'm about to give up."

Chongjiu looked at him for a while and said, "He's been poisoned by a slow-acting poison, at least three years ago."

Zhu Yang was stunned, as if struck by lightning. "I... I've been poisoned with a chronic poison for three years?"

Who could it be?

Empress Li arrived quickly, and the emperor summoned her; how could he not be pleased?

Lady Li glanced at Shu Jianyue and Chong Jiu, then immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be blessed with ten thousand years of happiness and good health."

Zhu Yang looked at her and his tone softened instinctively. He asked gently, "Empress, did your family take over the Yunxiao Auction House?"

Lady Li was taken aback, but immediately shook her head and said, "I don't know. Should I summon my father and brother to the palace to ask?"

"I have already made the announcement. You can sit down and wait for a while." Zhu Yang believed her when she said this, but then he remembered that he had been poisoned, and his face turned pale.

The Empress, however, assumed he was angry. She glanced at the two people opposite her and frowned.

Who are they? Are they here to file a complaint with the palace?

But didn't my second brother say that the people from Yunxiao Auction House had already handled it? How could someone still come to the palace to file a complaint?