Hearing Yang Mengchen's successive questions, Long Xuanmo felt a sudden pang of alarm and annoyance. He had overlooked all of these matters back then.

Seeing the colors of self-blame between Long Xuanmo's brows, Yang Mengchen let out a silent sigh.

In truth, Long Xuanmo couldn't be blamed for this. After all, at the time, he was only a thirteen-year-old boy, and he had been on the battlefield since he was ten. Moreover, the manipulations within the harem have always been sordid and secretive; it was normal for him not to have thought of these things.

"Prince, there is no need to blame yourself. Once I cure Yingtong's vocal cords, we may be able to find out what happened that night, and thereby uncover the culprit who harmed her. Besides, the Prince can also start by investigating the source of the secret poison."

Long Xuanmo's face was stern and fierce, his dark pupils like deep, bottomless abysses, his fists clenched so tight that veins were bulging: "Where does 'Midnight Paradise' come from? What happens after one is poisoned?"

"According to the 'Soul Severing Scripture,' 'Midnight Paradise' is a secret poison meticulously developed by the Old Poison Weirdo, who was a younger brother of the former Emperor Mu Ai. He took great pleasure in studying poisons.

Those poisoned by 'Midnight Paradise' experience excruciating pain akin to their bones being sawed by a blunt saw each midnight, persisting for two hours, yet no trace can be found. Most importantly, the poisoned person can't die even if they wish to;

Yingtong probably didn't want to worry you, or there might be some other reason. That's why she chose to suffer in silence and did not tell anyone. Before Yingtong opens up, it's best that the Prince pretends to be unaware, otherwise, I fear Yingtong may never speak."

Could it be related to the previous dynasty? A cold and fierce light lurked in Long Xuanmo's eyes. He nodded slightly after a moment: "Alright!"

"Also, Jin Yang and Jin Yuan are no longer suitable to serve Yingtong," said Yang Mengchen after some thought.

Long Xuanmo looked intently at Yang Mengchen for a long while: "After Yingtong's incident, the Royal Grandmother, out of concern, arranged for them to serve Yingtong."

"They may not hold ill intentions, but having stayed by Yingtong's side for three years without noticing anything shows their lack of diligence," Yang Mengchen replied frankly.

"I will handle it," Long Xuanmo acknowledged, knowing Yang Mengchen's words were absolutely reasonable.

The next day, the Luo family bid farewell and left. Old Master Luo and his wife promised Yang Mengchen that they would move in to stay for an extended period after handling some affairs back home.

Seeing Lady Hua's hopeful yet reluctant gaze, Yang Mengchen let Hua Ziyu accompany her back to the capital and gave him a bottle of pills, instructing him to return in half a month to continue the treatment. Lady Hua held Yang Mengchen's hand, her gratitude bringing tears to her eyes.

Nangong Lingfei did not leave; he was still waiting for Yang Mengchen to draft the renovation plans for the two Drunken Immortal Taverns.

Long Xuanmo ordered Mo Lei to take Jin Yang and Jin Yuan away. After Yang Mengchen learned about it, he said nothing, but since Yingtong couldn't be left without someone to serve her and the family members were all busy, and the house was spacious, someone needed to take care of it. Therefore, he planned to buy some servants at the county Broker.

Three days later, making an excuse to distract Long Xuanmo and Nangong Lingfei, and after instructing Mo Mei to take care of Long Yingtong, Yang Mengchen, Yang Chengrong, and Yang Chengxuan drove to the largest 'Changxin Broker' in the county.

Xiao Hongtao told Yang Mengchen there were two types of Brokers: Official Slave Dealers with permits issued by the Government Office, where fraudulent activities were absent, as such acts would lead to the revocation of their broker license, and 'Changxin Broker' was an Official Slave Dealer with branches in many places.

"What would the three guests like to purchase?" The Broker greeted the three siblings warmly upon their arrival, showing no negligence despite their young age.

Yang Mengchen smiled, "We would like to buy some servants."

"Please follow me, esteemed guests. We have all sorts of servants here," the Broker said, leading the three siblings inside.

In the spacious yard, some people were hung from trees, others bound to columns, with whip marks and blood stains all over their bodies. Men sat despondently in one corner, women either anxious or weeping in another, some with babies in their arms. In another corner were young children, each shivering all over.

Many customers picked people from the corners as if they were selecting livestock.

Yang Chengrong and Yang Chengxuan's eyes were filled with shock and pity, having never witnessed such a miserable sight. They felt a deep sympathy for those people.

Yang Mengchen's expression remained unchanged, strolling slowly past the throngs. His clear yet piercing gaze slid over those faces as the Broker beside him called over the individuals Yang Mengchen pointed out. Ultimately, Yang Mengchen chose forty people, including sixteen young maids and completed the transaction documents.

Just as Yang Mengchen was about to leave, he suddenly heard a cry like that of a cow nearby: "Do you sell milk cows here?"

"Miss is in luck, we just brought in ten milk cows a couple of days ago. Normally, we wouldn't have any," the Broker enthusiastically explained.

"Take us to see them," Yang Mengchen said.

Following the Broker to the next yard, Yang Mengchen indeed saw ten milk cows. After carefully inspecting them to confirm their health, she haggled with the Broker and, after registering the cows, the three siblings returned home with the newly purchased servants and milk cows.

On their way back, Yang Mengchen asked Yang Chengrong to stop the carriage. She got out, walked up to the servants, and pointed to five women and twelve men, "Get off the cart." After speaking, she turned and walked aside with Yang Chengxuan.

The seventeen people whose names were called immediately got off and followed behind Yang Mengchen and her brother.

Once they were a distance away, Yang Mengchen stopped, turned around, and looked at the seventeen individuals with calm, serene eyes.

"Subordinates pay respect to the Young Palace Master!" the seventeen people knelt down and respectfully exclaimed in unison.

Yang Mengchen gestured toward Yang Chengxuan beside her, "He is your Young Palace Master."

The seventeen people looked up in surprise.

The Palace Master had sent word for them to come and protect the Young Palace Master, and they had noticed that this young lady wore a token of the Palace Master. Furthermore, she had an extraordinary presence, leading them to believe she was the Young Palace Master; it turned out she was not.

"Big sister, are they from the Youming Palace?" Before Yang Chengxuan became a disciple of Weichi Kong, Yang Mengchen had told him about Weichi Kong's identity.

Yang Mengchen nodded, "Grandpa Kong was worried about our family being bullied, so he had them blend into the Broker first, then legitimately join our household. This way, they won't arouse suspicion." Otherwise, she wouldn't have made an excuse to elude Long Xuanmo and others.

However, when the third brother left, she would also have these people follow him, and the Elite Guards would then protect the family.

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