Updated: 2012-09-16

Looking at the men and women who were fighting together and looking very embarrassed, the people on both sides of the street immediately burst into laughter. Perhaps they had no malice, but they felt extremely harsh in Tan Zong's ears and couldn't help but shake their heads secretly. People in troubled times are as cheap as dogs!

Tan Zong was very disgusted with this behavior of making fun of the victims. Just as he was about to leave the window, he accidentally noticed an interesting detail. A ragged woman did not compete for food on the ground like her companions around her. Instead, she raised her head and looked angrily at the laughing diners standing at the window in the restaurant.

The woman's hair was messy and her face was dirty. She couldn't see her appearance clearly, but her eyes were extremely clear and the anger in her eyes was clearly visible.

"Young ladies are looking for death!" Not only Tan Zong, but the diners in the restaurant also noticed the woman who seemed to be an alternative. Seeing that she dared to glar at the restaurant, a chubby young man couldn't help but frown, cursed, and then smashed the teacup in his hand at the woman.

Seeing this, the woman quickly flashed to one side, and the teacup fell to her feet with a snap, smashing it to pieces.

"Smash her." Seeing this, the diners in the restaurant shouted, and the restaurant suddenly flew down like raindrops and other items, and fell to the ground with crackling sound.

Some dishes that were still not finished on the plate were thrown down, and the soup was splashed everywhere. Seeing this, the big men who were punching and kicking at the men and women who were snatching food quickly flashed to the side of the road.

The men and women who were fighting for food not only ignored the items flying off their heads, but instead became even more crazy because of the leftovers on the plate, and continued to grab the food on the ground on the street.

Some people were immediately smashed to death, but they still grabbed the food on the ground with their hands and put it into their mouths. They looked very terrifying. In their opinion, even if they died, they would be a full devil.

Just as the diners upstairs started throwing things on the street, Tan Zong noticed that the woman glaring at the restaurant was also hiding beside the big men, avoiding being hit by the dishes.

"What are you doing?" As soon as a group of officials from the government office were having dinner in the lobby on the first floor of the restaurant. Seeing the streets messy, they rushed out and pointed at the people upstairs and shouted, "The prefect has an order. Now it is an extraordinary time. Anyone who dares to provoke trouble will be arrested in prison."

Hearing this, the diners who threw things down suddenly scattered and retreated into the room. Everyone knew that the situation in Wuchang City was a little nervous now, and no one wanted to hit the gun at this time.

The big man who was escorting him quickly walked up to thank the officials, and then yelled at the group of men and women to leave.

The woman was walking in the crowd. When she passed by Tan Zong below, she felt someone looking at her upstairs, so she looked up at the restaurant and met Tan Zong's gaze in the air.

Seeing this, Tan Zong smiled slightly and nodded friendly to the woman. The woman was stunned at first, then looked away, lowered her head and walked forward.

"My husband, is there something wrong with that woman?" After sitting down, Qiao Yu looked at Tan Zong with a smile. She noticed that Tan Zong had been paying attention to the woman just now, and there must be something to say here.

"I think that woman is not like an ordinary family's children. Although she is dressed in shabby clothes, she has the temperament of a lady. She must not be simple in her identity." Tan Zong heard this, picked up the wine glass and sipped it, and said to Qiao Yu with a smile.

"Huguang is now in chaos, and some wealthy families are suffering from disaster, so their children are naturally exposed." You Hongsheng nodded when he heard this, agreeing with Tan Zong's statement, and his tone was quite emotional: According to the previous situation, those men and women were bought for sale by someone, and it is really sad that the children of wealthy families have fallen into this field.

"She is not only a wealthy family, but also has something hidden in her heart." Tan Zong put down the wine glass in his hand and added with a smile.

"Oh?" You Hongsheng seemed a little surprised and couldn't help but look up at Tan Zong, wondering why he said that.

"Have you noticed the woman's eyes, with clear eyes, without any gloomy or loss." Qiao Yu was also curious and looked at Tan Zong. Tan Zong smiled slightly and explained to the two, "What does this mean when she knew she was sold without any depression?"

"She has something to worry about!" You Hongsheng's eyes showed a look of surprise when he heard this.

"Although I don't know what secret she has, one thing is certain. Something must have happened at home because she was wandering here." Tan Zong nodded at You Hongsheng and said with a smile, "As for whether her family was hit by a mob or something else, it's hard to guess."

"My husband means, are you going to buy her?" Hearing this, Qiao Yu smiled slightly and said in a soft voice. Obviously, Tan Zong was very interested in the secret in the woman's heart.

"Anyway, we are not familiar with the place in Huguang, so it's better to hire some local people as guides." Tan Zongxiang Qiao Yu nodded slightly and said with a smile.

"But, we are here to investigate this time. Is it suitable to show up here?" You Hongsheng couldn't help but ponder for a moment and said with some concern when he heard this.

"We just want to show up openly. In this way, who can doubt that we have other plans?" Tan Zong knew that You Hongsheng was worried about his identity being exposed, so he laughed, "If we hide it, it will be even more suspicious."

"Build a plank road openly and cross Chencang secretly!" Hearing this, You Hongsheng immediately reacted, couldn't help but give a thumbs up at Tan Zong and flattered Tan Zong quietly, "Your Majesty's move is really wonderful."

Tan Zong smiled when he heard this. It’s not to mention that it feels really comfortable to be flattered. No wonder there is a saying that goes, wear everything, but don’t wear something.

Afterwards, Tan Zong asked the waiter to call over and inquire about the origin of the men who were escorting those men and women just now. He learned that the men and women were going to auction in the famous brothel in Wuchang City tomorrow night, Bibo Pavilion, so he prepared to join in the fun.

The next night, Bibo Pavilion.

The auction was held in the lobby on the first floor of Bibo Pavilion. In front of the lobby was a platform more than one meter high, and there were many tables and chairs in front of the table.

Tan Zonghua booked a private room on the second floor at a high price. The window of the private room was diagonally facing the platform in the lobby on the first floor, and could clearly see what was happening in the lobby.

After nightfall, Tan Zong led Qiao Yu, You Hongsheng and others to the private room, drinking and chatting while waiting for the evening auction to begin.

The hall was full of people, hugging the girls in Bitao Pavilion, drinking and chatting and laughing. Most of the people present were businessmen who were traveling around the world, taking this opportunity to buy some servants for their families and also find some fun.

Accompanied by the bright music, a group of enchanting dancers danced on the platform in the hall, wishing everyone a happy drinking.

At 7:30 pm, after three rounds of wine and five flavors, a man with a national face in his thirties walked up to the platform in the lobby on the first floor, and the dancers immediately left.

The noisy scene suddenly stopped, and people looked at the stage. The man with a national face was the emcee of the auction, and his appearance meant the beginning of the auction.

The emcee first said some polite words, then waved his hand, eight young men in uniform blue coarse cloth walked out of the side door of the hall led by several big men, and walked upstairs under the gaze of everyone.

"Take off your clothes." After the eight young men stood firm, the emcee said to them. The eight men then took off their clothes and stood there in only a pair of underwear. If there weren't several pots of charcoal fires in the hall that made the warm flowers in the room, they would have been trembling with coldness.

"Look at it, these are all good guys in their twenties. It is definitely worth the money if you buy them back." Then, the emcee asked the eight men to open their mouths. He walked up to him and pinched one man's chin and said to the people below with a smile, just like selling animals, showing the teeth of the eight men to the people below.

The eight men had a little thin body, and the base price was two taels of silver. After several guests took the stage to check their physical conditions, they selected the person they needed and took out the money to buy it.

Since the auction started, everyone knew that good goods were left behind, so no one increased the price.

After the eight men were bought, eight young women in their twenties wearing blue coarse cloth skirts were taken to the table.

Under the order of the emcee, the eight women took off their clothes one after another, revealing their bellybands and underwear, allowing the people at the scene to look at their bodies. Since the eight young women were average in appearance, the reserve price was 2 taels.

Like the eight men last time, no one raised the price of these eight women and were successively bought by several customers at the lowest price.

The emcee brought eight men and women out every time. These men and women were carefully selected. The quality of the men and women became higher and stronger as they went on. The men became stronger and more beautiful, which made the guests on the scene more and more interested in them, and bidding was inevitable.

As the bidding became more and more intense, the atmosphere in the hall gradually became hot. Two guests even raised the reserve price of five taels to thirty taels in order to compete for a woman with a good appearance.

Tan Zong was drinking leisurely with Qiao Yu and You Hongsheng in the private room while paying attention to the women who were auctioned. Because the woman's face was dirty at that time, he did not know the woman's appearance, so he could only judge from the eyes of those women.

Batches of men and women were taken to the stage and then sold away. Although the atmosphere in the hall became more and more popular, the guests in the box on the second floor were all indifferent. For people of their identities, how could they look at the small fish and shrimp in front? The target is naturally the men and women to be auctioned later, otherwise they would have the best share.
Chapter completed!