Santanle City was the center of a viscount's territory in the Principality of Kinoko, a small city with less than two thousand inhabitants.
Unlike southern cities that were dependent on religion, northern cities focused more on commerce and trade. The commoners here enjoyed greater freedom, with both religious and royal authority maintaining a relatively loose grip on the region.
After purchasing the carriage, Luo Wei was in no hurry to leave.
How could a princess travel with just one knight?
She planned to buy several slaves and train them as her personal maids and guards.
Western Santanle had many slave traders who would exchange food for prisoners of war from victorious barbarian tribes, then bring these captives to the city for sale.
Disobedient slaves were sold to fighting arenas, while compliant ones became servants for lords or wealthy merchants. Attractive young men and women were sold to specialty taverns.
Sometimes, handsome young boys were even more sought after by wealthy gentlemen.
Luo Wei covered her nose as she entered the foul-smelling slave market, and was immediately stunned by the scene before her.
Captured runaway slaves were bound to poles outside the tents, their bodies covered in whip marks.
Dead slaves were piled on wooden carts against the wall like butchered pork, waiting to be sent to cold storage until frozen stiff.
There were no sounds of begging or weeping as she had imagined. Most slaves appeared numb, neither crying nor resisting, just lying in their cages with closed eyes, awaiting whatever fate had in store for them.
Not all slaves had the privilege of cages - some were chained, with the other end tied to a tree or short stake.
Slave traders rarely whipped their slaves, as they were valuable property - selling them brought profit, while death meant complete loss.
With winter approaching, to prevent deaths from freezing, the traders would herd slaves together to share body warmth.
The shabby tents housed more valuable slaves - beautiful young women, handsome young men, strong and obedient laborers in their prime, and "skilled talents" who knew martial arts or blacksmithing.
The ground was filthy and reeking of excrement - a hundred times worse than city streets.
The slaves were covered in filth and waste. If not for the cold climate, they would likely have succumbed to disease long ago.
As soon as Luo Wei entered the slave market, dozens of gazes fell upon her.
The slave traders assessed her manner and attire with subtle glances, judging her status and intentions to decide whether to approach with sales pitches.
The cowering slaves also watched her secretly, hoping to find a good master who would take them away from this hell-like market.
They prayed she would rescue them from their misery, but dared not disturb her ears with their hoarse voices. Instead, they gazed at her timidly with eyes full of pain and pleading.
In this barren and savage northern land, they had never seen such a beautiful and elegant lady, whose every movement exuded noble grace.
She must be a well-bred noble lady - her wealth and status as abundant and distinguished as her exquisite beauty.
The slaves lacked the vocabulary to describe the young lady's beauty and her magnificent dress. They only knew that she seemed to glow all over, like a noble princess who had wandered into the slums, or a heavenly angel descended to earth.
The slave traders had a clearer assessment of Luo Wei's status. Some of them transported slaves to southern countries to sell to great lords, so they had seen many nobles.
These experienced traders immediately recognized the fabric of Luo Wei's dress - it was the currently fashionable Cloud Wool in the southern countries, said to be coveted even by royalty, rare and precious, difficult to obtain even with money.
Just the Rainbow Dress and Aurora Shawl the young lady wore would cost over thirty gold coins - enough to buy fifty slaves here.
Moreover, her outfit seemed even more luxurious than others they had seen.
Gold thread embroidery and fine cotton lace adorned the hem of her puffy dress, with pearl buttons the size of fingernails at the collar. The stars decorating the outer sleeves and overdress appeared to be diamonds rather than crystal - worth a hundred times more.
The young lady's waistband was embroidered with silver thread in a peculiar pattern. The slave traders recognized it as the "auspicious cloud pattern," the family crest of an ancient noble house.
Behind her stood a tall and imposing knight, protecting her safety.
Judge the cloth before the person - after determining her status through her attire, the slave traders averted their gaze.
Noble ladies despised being stared at, considering it an offense.
So after catching a glimpse of this noble lady's angelic beauty, they immediately lowered their heads - a noble lady's beauty was not for lowly people like them to steal glances at.
Delicate kid leather boots tiptoed on the filthy ground as the noble young lady lifted her soft, flowing skirts and approached a slave trader who appeared slightly cleaner than the others.
The slave trader immediately responded, bowing before she could speak: "Honorable lady, what can I do for you?"
"If you please, I wish to select several young servants, both male and female, with good appearances," the noble lady's voice was gentle and pleasant, more melodious than the finest nightingale's song he had ever heard.
What a gentle and noble lady, the slave trader marveled inwardly.
"Of course, my lady. They're all in the tents," the slave trader said eagerly. "The wind is strong outside. If you don't mind, perhaps you'd like to rest in that tent while I have them cleaned up and brought for your selection?"
He pointed to the largest tent in the slave market, where the ground was notably cleaner than elsewhere. Guards stood at its entrance - clearly not the dwelling of a mere small-time slave trader.
Upon entering the tent, Luo Wei confirmed her suspicions.
The tent's furnishings were understated yet luxurious, with a wooden table in the center holding parchments and quill pens, chairs covered with gray-white bearskins, and iron bows and broadswords hanging on racks.
A male moose skull hung on the tent wall, crowned with massive antlers showing no signs of breakage - evidence that the tent's owner was an excellent hunter.
Luo Wei could almost certainly conclude that these slave traders had a master behind them, and this tent was where their master received distinguished guests.
Anyone who could acquire so many slaves must be quite capable.
A gleam flashed in Luo Wei's eyes - she wanted to meet this person.
An idea had formed in her mind when she first arrived: if followers were hard to recruit, why not use slaves instead?
If she rescued these slaves, surely some would be grateful and follow her out of appreciation. She didn't necessarily need to control followers through fear - she could also control their hearts through kindness.
Slaves were once refugees themselves - they were truly people who had fallen into the mire without any way out.
Before the slave trader left the tent, Luo Wei spoke her second sentence since entering the slave market.
Not to the slave trader, but to Troy.
"Troy, these slaves are so pitiful. What do you think about me buying all of them?" Luo Wei said with compassionate expression.
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