A few minutes later, Qin Qing amused the waiter so much that his heart raced and his face turned red. He had also gotten the gist of the matter and was about to take the two of them upstairs when he noticed their expressions and asked with slight confusion.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Are you having trouble adjusting to the new environment?"
It's also her fault. She was so focused on getting there that she neglected their health. If they get sick from the change in environment, it can be really unpleasant!
Upon hearing this, Peony quickly waved her hand, blushing as she spoke.
"No, no, no, Mother, I'm not feeling unwell. It's just... I felt that Mother was acting a little differently than usual, so I was just surprised!"
Qin Qing was taken aback when she heard this, then smiled. She had seen all sorts of glamorous and shameless women in her previous life, but this kind of person was indeed easy to get things done with, which was why she deliberately tried to get close to the waiter.
"Silly child, I just want to get more information out of him so that we can make things easier for our next goal."
Then, she picked up Muyue from Shaoyao's arms, shook her head at Muyue's silly grin.
That afternoon, after packing up, the three headed to what was supposedly the largest slave market…
As soon as they got out of the car, they saw large iron cages on both sides of the street. The sight of them made Qin Qing's pupils shrink in fright. Xiao Muyue was even more panicked and shrank into Shaoyao's arms. Shaoyao also looked reluctant to let go.
Seeing this, Qin Qing noticed the strange looks from those around her. She quickly calmed herself down. The more she faced bad people, the stronger she had to be. Otherwise, if others thought the three of them were easy to bully, they might get tricked without even realizing it!
Thinking about it, she tugged at the peony and frowned slightly.
"Look at you! I told you not to come if you're not used to the climate, but you still insisted on coming along! Wait until we get back to Qi, and I'll tell the master what I'm going to say!"
As she spoke, she turned to look at the slaves in the cage, showing no fear or sympathy whatsoever. Some people, upon hearing this, assumed they were servants from a wealthy family in the city and quickly abandoned their target.
Peony wasn't stupid either. After being stunned for a moment by Qin Qing's words, she quickly realized what he meant and hurriedly apologized nervously.
"Yes, yes, Auntie, I know I was wrong, please forgive me!"
As he spoke, Qin Qing approached a group of female slaves and began to inspect them discreetly.
It was late spring, and the temperature was still quite pleasant. A circle of iron fences tightly enclosed the people inside. Their clothes were tattered, and their faces were covered in dust and dirt, making it impossible to see the faces of some of them.
Perhaps having overheard her conversation with Peony, a group of ragged and disheveled women hurriedly squeezed through, just as they touched the outer fence!
"Smack!"
A sharp whip lashed down suddenly, the sound of which sent shivers down one's spine...
The burly man beside him shouted in a rough voice.
"Get the hell out of here, all of you!"
After speaking, he glanced at Qin Qing and saw that the woman had a refined and noble air about her, her expression was calm, and there was a hint of allure in her eyes. She looked like a concubine or mistress of a wealthy family! So he smiled and said.
"Is this lady looking to buy a maid? You've come to the right place! Ten taels of silver for any maid you like! I guarantee they'll all be healthy and obedient!"
Qin Qing looked at him, nodded slightly, and then turned her gaze back to the fence. Seeing the hopeful and pitiful expressions of the group of women, her heart tightened slightly. It wasn't pity for them, but worry that if Zhang He had fallen to this state, given her seemingly timid but actually stubborn nature, might she already…
Thinking of this, she frowned slightly. The burly man next to her thought she was dissatisfied with the goods inside and quickly said something.
"What kind of thing are you looking for, Madam? I'm more familiar with the situation here. Why don't you tell me what you're looking for? I can help you find something!"
As the man rubbed his hands together, looking like a sleazy, petty person, Qin Qing immediately understood what he meant. Thinking that it would cost ten taels of silver to buy one person, he took out five taels of silver without saying a word, his face extremely arrogant.
"Fine, you can find one for me then! I don't like the ones here. My family is quite wealthy and powerful, so the maids can't be ugly!"
After saying that, the burly man took the silver, his smile widening as he began to shower the money with compliments.
"Hehe, you're right! To be honest, I have some other items here. You can take a look, and I can give you a discount if you like anything!"
Qin Qing maintained a composed demeanor, simply saying, "Let's take a look first," before turning to Shaoyao and instructing her.
"I'll go check first. You stay here and don't move!"
After saying that, she followed the burly man into a house around the corner. As soon as she entered, a strange stench filled her nostrils. When the burly man saw her covering her nose, he quickly opened a window on one side.
"Hehe, it's been a while since we've had any ventilation, so it's bound to have a bit of an odor. Please forgive me, Madam!"
Qin Qing didn't care. She only saw that the room was empty except for a wooden table and two lamps. She looked at Er Tou with a puzzled tone.
"This is the kind of merchandise you're talking about? Where is everyone? Are you kidding me?"
But the two heads just smiled mysteriously and didn't say anything. They walked directly to the wooden table, turned the lamp...
"Squeak..."
A secret entrance to a chamber appeared behind the wooden table, which surprised Qin Qing greatly. She quickly composed herself, only to see the burly man already going downstairs.
Seeing this, she couldn't help but wonder why these two trusted her so much. Logically speaking, people who trade in slaves should be very careful!
Little did they know that the strong man acted this way because the State of Qi had been defeated. As the border town was located at the junction of the two countries, it was bound to become a city for future development. Various wealthy bosses and high-ranking officials were likely to come here to develop their businesses. The existence of these slave owners was somewhat irritating, since no one would allow such a situation to occur in the area under their jurisdiction.
Therefore, the process of selling off all these slaves had to be expedited. Finally, a seemingly low-key wealthy family came along, and he was naturally eager to buy some of their slaves.
At this moment, Qin Qing followed behind Er Tou silently into the building. The stench grew stronger, and what she saw filled her with fear.
All around were instruments of torture and supports. Several figures lay motionless in dark cages on either side, like corpses, with excrement everywhere.
Just then, a shout and a whipping sound came from the innermost part!
"You bastard, who do you think you are to dare glare at me like that!"
Then came the sound of whips lashing her skin, making her heart pound and her steps tremble!
He subconsciously looked up and saw two men lashing the man lying on the ground with leather whips soaked in salt water. Bright red blood dripped onto the ground, and with new wounds on top of old ones, the man finally fainted, perhaps unable to bear the excruciating pain.
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