Oh no! Seven kids at the start, all yellow and skinny.

Chapter 215 Ning Xingchen

Ning Xingchen's body stiffened involuntarily for a moment, but having been a playboy for so long and seen so many situations, he quickly smiled and even reached out to hold Yun Yi's hand: "Miss Fang, are you sure? If you really spend the night with me, then the Third Prince will have no chance at all."

"If you like someone, and she disappears for more than half a year, what would you do?" Yunyi shook off the other person's hand and sat back in her seat.

Ning Xingchen remained silent.

"So, it's impossible for us to be together."

"You've changed so much."

People always change.

"That makes sense. Well then... I'll toast you."

"You said there's something in this wine, so you dare to drink it?"

"At worst, you can just find a woman?"

Yunyi was delighted.

Finally, Ning Xingchen decided to spend the night there, while Yun Yi left Baixianglou.

"Young Miss, do you know how much that Tong'er girl paid?" Hong Yi was very gossipy. During the half hour that Yun Yi and Ning Xingchen spent alone together, she had already found out everything about Tianxiang Garden.

"How much?" Yunyi asked, not wanting to dampen the little girl's gossipy spirit.

“This number.” Hong Yi gestured with her eyes wide open.

"Two thousand taels?"

Hong shook her head: "Miss, you can be a little bolder."

"Twenty thousand taels?" Yunyi frowned slightly.

"No, it's two hundred thousand taels."

Yunyi's eyes widened: "It's so expensive just for a nap? That girl... is she made of gold?"

Hong scoffed, "Who knows? Anyway, there are some complete idiots willing to spend their money."

"It feels like money laundering," Yunyi muttered.

"Money laundering? What does that mean?"

Yunyi snapped out of her daze and glanced at Hongyi: "This is easy to understand. It's just some shady money that, after some manipulation, becomes legitimate."

Hong Yi's expression changed: "Miss, now that you mention it, it seems plausible too. But who would come to a brothel to launder money?"

“Then we need to investigate.” Yun Yi shrugged, but she didn’t want to get involved in this matter, since it had nothing to do with her.

Hong Yi didn't say anything more.

That night, just after midnight, Yunyi and Hongyi changed into their night clothes and left the inn, then went to Baixianglou again.

Hong Yi was still on guard, while Yun Yi went into the backyard. However, as soon as her feet touched the ground, she came face to face with someone opposite her. Just as she was about to make a move, the other person hurriedly waved his hand and said, "It's me."

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?" Yunyi stopped in time.

"Didn't you also stay up all night?" Ning Xingchen chuckled. "And you even came all the way from the inn."

"Aren't you afraid someone will hear you with such a loud voice?" Yunyi glanced around.

"I've already knocked them all out with medicine. It'll be an hour before we can hear it." Ning Xingchen waved his hand. "Since you're here too, let's go together."

"Want to do it together?"

"Come here. Don't you think there's something wrong with this Baixianglou?" Ning Xingchen frowned.

"Can't I just come here to sneak some money to spend?"

"Don't be ridiculous. You just threw in twenty taels of gold, and now you're telling me you want to sneak some money to spend?" Ning Xingchen waved his hand. "My medicine only lasts for an hour. Let's not waste time here, shall we?"

"Alright, then tell me, what's wrong with Baixianglou?"

Ning Xingchen remained silent.

"You don't trust me?" Yunyi frowned slightly. "In that case..."

"Then can you tell me first, what problems do you think there are here?"

"Alright, since you doubt me, I'll tell you the truth. But let's find a room to sit down and talk, it's freezing cold here..."

So the two of them went into the nearest room.

Although there was no light, Yunyi had excellent eyesight and no problem with night vision. She immediately realized that this was a small warehouse, so she first touched around and quietly put the good things she saw into her space.

"Let's just say we can't turn on the lights." After Ning Xingchen adjusted for a bit, her vision improved.

"The miracle doctor you came looking for is me."

"Wh...what?" Ning Xingchen exclaimed in surprise.

"In other words, I cured your sister's face."

"you……"

“My mother is skilled in medicine, and I have been learning from her since I was a child. However, she always told me to keep a low profile, so no one knows about it except her.”

"Then you now..."

"I'm revealing my medical skills now because I need to survive. After all, I became a mother without any pain after being sold here. With seven children and nine mouths to feed, I can't let them starve to death, can I?"

Ning Xingchen nodded: "You've really had a tough time."

“There’s a girl named Xia Xiaoyue in the village. We used to be on good terms, but she got close to me for the sake of those kids. She encouraged me to sell them. Originally, she said they were to be maids in wealthy families, but actually they were to be sold to Baixianglou. So, I think Baixianglou is probably involved in child trafficking.”

Ning Xingchen sighed: "I also suspect that. Moreover, I suspect that this place is not just trafficking children, but using these children to do something even more terrible."

"Even more terrifying?"

"Yes." Ning Xingchen nodded, then pondered for a moment, "Do you know about Tianyi Temple in the suburbs?"

"I've heard of it; it's the largest Taoist temple in the Longxi region. Is there any connection between it and here?"

"The abbot of Tianyi Temple is called Qingxuanzi, and everyone also calls her Qingxuan Fairy. It is said that she has attained Taoism and the youth-preserving pills she refines have extremely miraculous effects. Not only can they preserve and nourish one's appearance, but they can even make one look younger overall. Many wealthy families in the capital are willing to pay any price for one of her pills, and even some people in the palace use them."

Yun Yi frowned: "You... suspect there's something wrong with that pill?"

“I didn’t think so at first, but…” Ning Xingchen pondered, recalling the scene when he entered the palace and met the Dowager Consort, “But isn’t this too incredible? What kind of medicine do you think could turn a person in their sixties into someone in their late teens?”

Yunyi's eyes flashed. Her spiritual spring could enhance a person's physique and make the body's cells abnormally active. Long-term use could indeed prolong life and make people younger. It was possible to look more than ten years younger than the normal age, but to suddenly look forty years younger was really unrealistic. Could it be that the Qingxuan Fairy in this time and space was an outsider like her?

“My mother and sister also use anti-aging drugs, but they are all prescriptions from imperial physicians, which only make them look younger.”

“That is indeed a problem,” Yunyi nodded. “But you still haven’t said what the connection is between that Taoist temple and this place.”

"Qingxuan Fairy's eldest disciple, Fairy Rongyu, had contact with Li Niang more than once."