Everyone of a certain status in the capital received invitations for the Yunlong Auction House’s first opening. The merchants from various countries that had gathered in the capital also received invitations. The price for an invitation had already reached two thousand taels of silver each outside, but there were no takers; no one would foolishly sell their invitations. Even Marquis Anguo’s mansion received an invitation. Although the Empress wanted to wipe out the entire Anguo Marquis’ mansion, they still needed to maintain a certain level of face for now.

At this moment, the area in front of the Yunlong Auction House was bustling with activity. Those from prominent families and marquisates received golden invitations. As soon as they entered, they were welcomed by attendants and led to the second-floor elegant rooms. These rooms had sheer curtains, separating them from the auction hall below. The rest of the people, according to their seat numbers, took their places in the first-floor hall.

The four members of the King Luo Rong Mansion got off their carriage and someone immediately came forward to greet them. Many eyes were fixed on Guo Zimu, who was led by King Luo Rong. They had heard that because King Luo Rong’s legitimate consort possessed extraordinary beauty he wore a mask. Now, seeing him, it turned out to be true, which sparked even more curiosity among the onlookers.

Guo Zimu lowered his head slightly and held onto King Luo Rong’s large hand. King Luo Rong briefly responded to those who came to greet him, then took Guo Zimu and Murong Hui inside, leaving Murong Yi to deal with the rest. 

The attendants did not lead King Luo Rong and his party to the second floor but directly to the third floor. Upon entering, they were brought to the largest private room facing the auction platform. King Luo Rong’s expression changed and he quickly saluted. “Your Majesty, Empress.” King Luo Rong’s voice was not loud and did not attract the attention of those below. In the room, Emperor Yongming and the Empress were dressed in plain clothes, evidently not wanting others to know of their presence.

“Uncle, don’t be so formal, please have a seat.” Emperor Yongming said in a cheerful tone. Guo Xun led King Luo Rong and Guo Zimu to sit below Emperor Yongming, while Murong Hui, whose status was insufficient, sat behind. The Empress spoke… “This is the first time the auction house is opening. His Majesty and I are quite curious. Jiang Kangchen mentioned that there are some auction items from others today.”

King Luo Rong smiled and said, “Today, I brought Consort Zheng and Murong Yi to have a look and see what this auction house is all about. We’re just here to witness the spectacle.” Emperor Yongming chuckled. “I’m also here to have a look. According to Jiang Kangchen, the items in this auction house are up for bidding and I don’t have extra silver to compete with others.” Saying this, Emperor Yongming even nodded towards the lower hall, the truly wealthy people were sitting there.

King Luo Rong laughed heartily and Guo Zimu couldn’t help but chuckle. The Empress shook his head, warning Emperor Yongming to be cautious. Emperor Yongming loved to play poor in front of his ministers and never hesitated to do so. This time, when he and the Empress came out, the Empress took three thousand taels of silver from his private fund, while Emperor Yongming didn’t bring a single coin.

After a while, Murong Yi also entered. Accompanying him were General Dai, Old Madam Mu, and Old Zhengjun. Guo Zimu stood up to give up his seat and King Luo Rong did not stop him. The Old General sat beside King Luo Rong and Guo Zimu went to sit beside Old Madam Mu and Old Zhengjun in order. Murong Yi sat next to the Old General. As soon as General Dai sat down, Emperor Yongming asked, “Why haven’t the Loyal and Brave Marquis come up? I told them to come up after they arrived.”

General Dai replied, “Shijing was stopped by the people below. Those people finally caught him and must have something to say to him. An will come up in a moment.” No sooner had the Old General finished speaking than Shao Yunan and Wang Shijing came in. The three children and the other members of the Dai family were all on the second floor. It was evident from this who the current favorite was in front of Emperor Yongming.

The two of them greeted everyone as they came in and Emperor Yongming and the Empress gestured for Shao Yunan to sit beside them. Wang Shijing took the seat that Murong Hui had vacated and Murong Hui moved over to sit on Wang Shijing’s right side. After Shao Yunan sat down, he said, “Your Majesty, Empress, this is the first room. Initially, the auction items are all things brought by others. So, if you see something you like, just say it, and I will bid for it. The tea, wine, and other items later are from our Yunlong Group, so we have nothing to do with them.”

The Empress immediately said, “We are just here to take a look and we don’t need anything.” Emperor Yongming signaled to Wang Shijing, who took a few seconds to react before speaking. “Later, someone should bring a list of items. Your Majesty, Empress, Uncle Mu, Grandpa, and Grandma, all take a look. There may be something rare.” Shao Yunan confidently said, “If you like something, just buy it. I have plenty of money and I’m not lacking at all.”

Before the elders of the Dai family could say anything, Emperor Yongming preemptively said. “Haha, I love hearing that. The Wei family used to be wealthy, but when I asked them to contribute some silver, they hesitated and refused. Now listen to what Yunan says. This is the difference between outsiders and family members.” King Luo Rong followed the Emperor’s words. “Exactly. The Wei family is only thinking about how to get money from Your Majesty’s pocket, while Shijing and Yunan are thinking about how to fill Your Majesty’s pocket. Can they be the same?”

“I knew Uncle would understand me the best.” Others held back the black lines on their foreheads and the Empress’ fingers moved. This person looked younger, but his intelligence seemed to have regressed. Judging by appearance, Emperor Yongming and Shao Yunan could be considered peers. Perhaps it was because of this that Emperor Yongming didn’t feel embarrassed at all about letting Shao Yunan spend money for him. According to Emperor Yongming, ‘I asked my nephew to buy me some little trinkets, what’s wrong with that?’

At this moment, Jiang Kangchen entered. After greeting everyone one by one, he handed a list of auction items to everyone present, explained the auction rules in detail, and gave an oversized sign with the number “one” written on it to Eunuch Guo. After everyone understood the auction rules and had no further questions, Jiang Kangchen bowed and left. The auction was about to begin.

The doors of the auction house closed on time at the ninth hour. The interior of the auction house was noisy with people talking. With three drum beats, the noise in the hall quieted down considerably. Two squads of guards appeared from a side door, running along the sides of the hall and standing in formation. Many people couldn’t figure out what was going on. Shortly after, Jiang Kangchen appeared. He walked calmly to the auction platform, raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and when everything around quieted down, Jiang Kangchen said loudly, “Today is the opening day of the Yunlong Auction House. I, Jiang Kangchen, welcome all of you to join us. Every guest who comes today will receive a small gift from the auction house.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place became noisy again. A gift for coming? Someone immediately asked, “Does it include family members who came along?” Jiang Kangchen replied. “Yes. All who come are guests, even children are included.” Wow—

Jiang Kangchen raised his hand and the hall immediately became silent. He continued. “The gifts will be given after the auction ends. The guests in the private rooms will have attendants deliver them individually and the guests in the hall can collect them at the exit when leaving. All your gifts are the same… a small token of appreciation. I hope you won’t reject it.” Someone stood up and shouted. “A gift received for free, who wouldn’t like that? What do you all say?”

“Yeah, yeah!” The atmosphere in the venue immediately became lively. Shao Yunan spoke up. “That person is a cheerleader, specially invited to boost the atmosphere.” Everyone looked at him and Shao Yunan calmly said, “To prevent a dull atmosphere, such arrangements are quite normal.”

“…” 

Emperor Yongming asked, “What is the gift?” Shao Yunan replied, “A white jade charm for luck, the most common white jade.” Emperor Yongming’s immediate reaction was, “Spendthrift! Too much! With so many people, how many of these have to be given away?”

“Your Majesty!” the Empress couldn’t bear it any longer. Murong Yi held back a smile and said, “Your Majesty (Little Uncle), rest assured. The money spent will be earned back a hundredfold. The reason for giving away ‘white jade’ is to advertise our upcoming Yunlong Jewelry Pavilion. Today’s auction will feature jade jewelry from Yunlong Jewelry Pavilion, along with this small gift. When the jewelry pavilion opens next month, it will undoubtedly bring in substantial wealth.”

Emperor Yongming, secretly pinched by the Empress, nodded approvingly. “Not bad, not bad. I seem to be too shallow.” Murong Yi hurriedly said, “The gift in Room One is not a charm for luck.” Emperor Yongming asked, “What is it?”

“Your Majesty, you will know when the time comes.” 

Emperor Yongming said, “…”

The Empress said, “Your Majesty, it’s about to start.” Emperor Yongming immediately sat down and Murong Yi felt that holding back laughter could be harmful for the first time. Wang Shijing’s face also twitched a bit, thankful for his strong self-control.

While Murong Yi and Emperor Yongming were talking, Jiang Kangchen’s opening remarks were also coming to an end. He first explained the auction rules, warning that if anyone violated the rules, the armed guards standing in the hall were not to be underestimated. With no objections from the audience, Jiang Kangchen announced the official start of the auction.

A charming maid walked in gracefully holding a tray. She placed the tray on a long table and stepped aside. Jiang Kangchen introduced. “The first auction item, ancient coins from the Yuan Dynasty, thirty pieces, authenticated by Master Zhao Wenyin, the appraisal master of Yunlong Auction House. Starting bid, two hundred silver taels, increments of ten taels, and double the bid each time, let’s begin!”

“Two hundred taels!” someone raised a sign with the number “thirty-five” on it.

“Two hundred and thirty taels!”

“Two hundred and forty taels!”

As the first four or five people successively raised their bids, others in the room began to understand the auction process, and more people started raising their signs. Shao Yunan also explained that the first four bidders were proxies to help everyone understand the process.

When the ancient coins were bid up to thirteen hundred and sixty taels, no one bid further. Jiang Kangchen looked at the hourglass on the table and announced, “One thousand three hundred and sixty taels once, one thousand three hundred and sixty taels twice, one thousand three hundred and sixty taels three times, sold!”

With the auction hammer falling, everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief, saying, “So this is how the auction works; it’s really exciting.” Shao Yunan smiled faintly and said, “Your Majesty, the real excitement is yet to come.” Emperor Yongming touched his chest.

With the success of the first auction item, Jiang Kangchen was full of confidence. The items successfully auctioned were first shown to the winning bidders for inspection. After confirming, they were sealed in front of them, stamped with their seal, and then taken backstage. After the auction ended, the buyer would bring the number plate, another matching finger seal, and the pickup order to collect the items.

The second item was a famous painting. Emperor Yongming looked at the list of items and asked curiously, “Are they really auctioning off Buddha relics? Could it be stolen goods?” The Empress frowned. “How could such things happen?” Shao Yunan said, “It seems to be a family heirloom. The items at the auction will be checked for their origin; they shouldn’t be stolen goods. Lord An sent someone to check. There shouldn’t be any mistakes.”

King Luo Rong’s eyes flickered slightly, and Murong Yi said indifferently, “Buddha relics have been lost before and those recovered are enshrined in the Rainforest Temple’s relic tower. It’s possible that some have ended up in the hands of the common people. As a family heirloom, it’s acceptable.” Emperor Yongming turned to the Empress. “Do you want it?” The Empress shook his head. “I don’t believe in Buddha, do you want it, Your Majesty?”

Emperor Yongming also shook his head, continued to read, and said, “A thousand-year-old tortoiseshell? This is a good thing.” The Empress was helpless. “Does Your Majesty lack rare items?” Someone answered on behalf of Emperor Yongming. “Tortoiseshell is already rare. A thousand-year-old tortoiseshell is even more precious. It’s good for the Emperor and Empress to buy it.” It was King Luo Rong.

Shao Yunan said, “Then let’s buy it.” 

Emperor Yongming said, “Okay!”

The others, “…”

Emperor Yongming was not very interested. After all, the rare items had already been given to him by Wang Shijing and Shao Yunan. The only two items he was interested in were the Buddha relics and the thousand-year-old tortoiseshell. However, with the relics, he was only curious about how such items would appear in an auction. And the reason he wanted the thousand-year-old tortoiseshell was to give it to his future sons. The palace had once had a thousand-year-old tortoiseshell, which was given to Prince Lin by Emperor Kangsheng and was later destroyed. Emperor Yongming regretted it.

The auction’s atmosphere became increasingly lively and Emperor Yongming and the Empress watched with relish. Sometimes they would be infected by the tension of the bids, an experience that was quite novel for them. It was the same for everyone, even Shao Yunan was influenced by the atmosphere.

When another item was presented, Shao Yunan’s heart skipped a beat. He stood up and walked to the corner of the curtain, lifting it. Jiang Kangchen introduced, “Two relics… the provider claims they are relics of the Gautama Buddha. We are unable to distinguish their authenticity. Starting bid, three thousand silver taels, increments of one hundred taels and double the bid each time.”

As Jiang Kangchen’s voice fell, someone shouted, “Five thousand silver taels.” Roar, roar, roar— Everyone looked toward the voice. Shao Yunan followed the sound and saw a person sitting in the hall, ordinary in appearance, raising a sign that read “Seventy-Six.”

“Seven thousand silver taels.” Bidder number forty-four raised the sign.

“Ten thousand silver taels.”

Roar, roar, roar, roar, roar—

Bidder number fifty-one raised the sign.

“Right from the start, it reached ten thousand taels. Could it be a genuine Buddha relic? These people are quite well-informed.” Emperor Yongming also couldn’t sit still. He stood up and went behind the curtain. The Empress followed and the others also gathered to watch the excitement.

“Thirteen thousand silver taels.”

“Fourteen thousand silver taels.”

“Sixteen thousand silver taels.”

Murong Yi looked at the fiercely competing bidders and whispered, “There are people from the Rainforest Temple and the Dasi Kingdom, and the others can’t be identified.” Emperor Yongming stared. “It seems to be true.”

At this point, the price had already risen to twenty-one thousand taels. Shao Yunan walked up to Wang Shijing, whispered a few words to him, and then left the private room. Emperor Yongming and the Empress looked over, but Wang Shijing didn’t say anything, he just stood where Shao Yunan had been standing.

“Forty-three thousand taels!” The person from the Dasi Kingdom raised the sign again. Jiang Kangchen’s palms were sweating and the person sent by the Rainforest Temple gritted their teeth and raised their sign. “Forty-five thousand taels!”

“Fifty thousand.” Both of them looked up in astonishment and everyone turned their gaze in that direction, even Emperor Yongming took a sharp breath. Inside room number one, everyone stared at Wang Shijing, who had shouted “fifty thousand.” 

 

Edited by: Jaisland

Proofreader: 

 

Support translation: