Jiang Kangchen hadn’t expected room number one to bid for the relics and he recognized Wang Shijing’s voice as the one calling the price. However his reaction was very swift and he quickly regained his composure and shouted, “Fifty thousand taels, any more bids? Fifty thousand taels of silver!”
“Fifty-one thousand taels!” The person from Dasi Kingdom followed. The representative from the Rainforest Temple and those around him discussed bidding, while Wang Shijing said, “Fifty-two thousand taels.”
Emperor Yongming and the others stared at Wang Shijing, who didn’t explain anything and kept his gaze fixed below. The Rainforest Temple’s representative raised the sign. “Fifty-two thousand five hundred taels.” Before their words could settle, Wang Shijing shouted, “Fifty-five thousand taels.”
The hall buzzed with discussion and various comments could be heard even from the private rooms. Old master Cen, who had also come, furrowed his brows, unable to understand why Wang Shijing was interested in these relics. It seemed odd to the two children as well, they couldn’t see any connection with Buddhism. Elder Weng didn’t come. He was deeply engrossed in the ‘Yijing’ and couldn’t be pulled away. He only sent his family to join the excitement. But if he were here, he would surely be puzzled too.
At this point, the bid for the relics had reached fifty-seven thousand taels and the person from the Dasi Kingdom was still raising the sign. The Rainforest Temple had already given up in the previous round of bidding. Wang Shijing calmly called out again, “Fifty-eight thousand taels.”
The person from the Dasi Kingdom showed visible signs of struggle on his face. Jiang Kangchen shouted once more. “Fifty-eight thousand taels, is there anyone else bidding? Fifty-eight thousand taels of silver!” Just as the time limit was reached, he promptly announced, “Fifty-eight thousand taels once, fifty-eight thousand taels twice, fifty-eight thousand taels thrice, sold!”
At that moment, the entire auction house erupted into a loud commotion. Everyone turned their gaze toward room number one, including the infuriated person from the Dasi Kingdom and the bewildered representative from the Rainforest Temple. Having secured the relics, Wang Shijing breathed a sigh of relief. He could now report to his wife. At this point, someone approached Jiang Kangchen and placed a folded note in front of him. After reading it, Jiang Kangchen’s tense demeanor relaxed.
As the auctioneer’s hammer fell, Emperor Yongming was the first to inquire. “Loyal and Brave Marquis, are you going to tell us that you and Yunan are also interested in cultivating and achieving immortality?”
During this time, Buddhism wasn’t as prominent. At the least, it was not elevated to the status of a state religion. Emperor Yongming and the Empress leaned more toward Daoism than Buddhism. Seeing Wang Shijing spend so much money to acquire the relics, the first thought that crossed Emperor Yongming’s mind was whether they were interested in immortality, similar to their Aunt.
Wang Shijing was straightforward in his response. “It’s Yunan who wants it.” The Empress raised an eyebrow. “Yunan wants it, so you just indulge him? Spending nearly sixty thousand taels on something like that? Are you drowning in excess money?”
As that someone was discussed, that someone came back. When he entered, everyone’s attention focused on him. Yunan blinked. “What’s going on?” The Empress asked, “Why do you want those relics?”
Yunan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he closed the door and cautiously whispered. “I don’t know either. The moment those relics appeared, a voice in my head said ‘Take it, take it.’ If I don’t buy it, what if there’s trouble later?” There were several gasps in the room. Everyone remembered Yunan’s peculiar experiences and his ‘Emperor’s Lucky Star’ destiny. Emperor Yongming immediately nodded approvingly. “Well done, well done. How can the relics of the Buddha be cheapened by someone from the Dasi Kingdom?”
At this moment, a strange accent echoed from below. “Unfair auction! Room number one is a privileged person from your Great State of Yan. Does he have fifty-eight thousand taels of silver on him? If he can’t produce it, the relics should be mine!”
Emperor Yongming’s face darkened, and the Empress’ expression also turned cold. General Dai directly lifted the curtain to see who was so audacious. Yunan also walked to the front and looked directly below. The person from the Dasi Kingdom, who had just failed in bidding for the relics, glared angrily up at him.
Jiang Kangchen coldly said, “Since you know that room number one is a privileged person from our Great State of Yan, do you dare to question if he has the silver? You should know the rules of the Yunlong Auction House clearly – auctioned silver must be paid on the spot!”
“I don’t believe he has fifty-eight thousand taels of silver on him!” The person tapped his chest. “I do!”
Emperor Yongming’s face turned green. He was poor and he liked to complain to his ministers about his poverty, but being called poor by a ‘foreigner’ in front of so many people… Emperor Yongming’s killing intent was evident in his eyes.
“If I can produce fifty-eight thousand taels of silver, you have to commit seppuku as an apology.” Sizzling sounds echoed. The person from the Dasi Kingdom’s expression changed for a moment. Facing Yunan, who was looking down at him from above, he spoke again. “Disrespecting the monarch of our Great State of Yan on our territory and disrespecting the husband of a first-ranking marquis, who gave you the courage? I’ll give you two choices. commit seppuku as an apology or face execution by slow dismemberment.” The man turned fierce. “I’m from the Dasi Kingdom!”
“So what if you’re from the Dasi Kingdom? Even if your king dares to insult the monarch of our Great State of Yan, I would still make him commit seppuku to apologize to our monarch! Who do you think you are? Guards! I’ll show him whether I have that much silver! Spare him the indignity of dying with his eyes open!”
“You dare! I’m a person from the Dasi Kingdom! If you kill me, the Dasi Kingdom will retaliate against your Great State of Yan!”
Shoo! An arrow shot from a second-floor private room, followed by a wail, and the arrogant man from the Dasi Kingdom fell to the ground, clutching his stomach. Panic ensued and the people from the Dasi Kingdom that were around the man hurriedly fled. General Dai roared: “No one move!” The guards in the hall swiftly unsheathed their knives.
Emperor Yongming, the Empress, and King Luo Rong stared in shock at the crossbow arrow lodged in the abdomen of the man from Dasi Kingdom. Bleeding profusely and moaning in pain, he and his companions were left terrified. Wang Shijing furrowed his brows, looking towards the room from which the crossbow arrow was fired. General Dai, being a seasoned military man, quickly regained composure and ordered, “Take this man and his companions away. Report to me and we’ll decide their fate later.”
With General Dai present, the people downstairs felt reassured. The guards escorted the man and his accomplices, totaling three individuals, away. The two uninjured ones seemed stunned and showed no resistance.
Wang Shijing raised his voice. “Master Jiang, from now on, any items from my Loyal and Brave Marquis residence are not allowed to be bid on by people from the Dasi Kingdom.” Master Jiang, equally shocked, nodded in agreement. Wang Shijing addressed everyone below. “The insolence and insult from the Dasi Kingdom are intolerable. As a loyal subject, I solemnly pledge to defend against it.”
“Defend against the insult to the monarch, we solemnly pledge!” The words echoed, led by General Dai and followed by everyone in the Great Yan Kingdom, whether they meant it or not, shouting. “Defend against the insult to the monarch, we solemnly pledge!”
General Dai and Old man Cen lifted the curtain of the private room. “Defend against the insult to the monarch, we solemnly pledge!” In the momentum created by the two, all the people in the Great State of Yan that were present shouted, “Defend against the insult to the monarch, we solemnly pledge!”
The other merchants present had different thoughts, but none left the scene, including the merchants from the Dasi Kingdom. When the hall quieted down, Wang Shijing said, “The fifty-eight thousand taels have been paid to the auction house by Loyal and Brave Marquis. If anyone doubts it, they can verify it.”
Only a fool would verify it at such a moment. Wang Shijing continued, “I apologize for the disturbance, though it was unintentional. I extend my apologies to everyone.” With that, he bowed respectfully. The people below hastened to say, “No need, no need,” and automatically distanced themselves from the merchants from the Dasi Kingdom. Even those who were initially sitting close to them moved their chairs aside.
Setting aside the embarrassment and frustration of the Dasi Kingdom merchants, Wang Shijing added, “Today, everyone present, except for the merchants from the Dasi Kingdom, will receive an additional gift after the auction ends as a gesture of apology.” Someone immediately said in the hall, “Loyal and Brave Marquis is righteous; we admire it.” Wang Shijing nodded to Jiang Kangchen, who then announced, “The auction will continue!” The crowd immediately quieted down.
Wang Shijing lowered the curtain and someone inquired casually, “Old General, just now, wasn’t that the private room of the General’s residence?” General Dai replied, “This old man will go and check.” With that, he left. Wang Shijing and Yunan were a bit confused. The item definitely originated from their house, but both of them were present here. There were only three children in that room, who could it be?
The interrupted auction resumed downstairs, but many people were not in the mood to pay attention. They were contemplating how the extremely fast object had arrived. It didn’t look like an arrow at all. General Dai soon returned, accompanied by Jiang Moxi’s lowered-head. In General Dai’s hands was a small-sized crossbow. Seeing the crossbow, both Wang Shijing and Yunan’s expressions changed. Where did this thing come from? There wasn’t such a small crossbow in the space!
“Your Majesty,” General Dai handed over the crossbow, his eyes filled with excitement. Emperor Yongming took the crossbow and glanced at Jiang Moxi, who lifted his head. He showed no fear on his face and calmly said, “Shot, it, myself.” Wang Shijing and Yunan immediately knelt down. Wang Shijing bowed and said, “I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness!”
General Dai said, “Your Majesty, this is not the place.” Emperor Yongming carefully inspected the crossbow, then looked at Jiang Moxi who handed the crossbow to Emperor Yongming, who, although he maintained a composed expression, felt a surge of shock within. Jiang Kangchen’s voice from below announced the continuation of the auction’s ‘Thousand-Year Tortoiseshell.’ The people in room number one, however, were not paying attention to it. Their focus shifted to the auctioneer.
“Next, we have one of the highlights of this auction, Dragon Well Green Tea.” The attention of room number one returned to the auction. “Before we proceed with the auction, I would like to declare three things. First, all items to be auctioned next are from the Loyal and Brave Marquis residence. Hence, people from the Dasi Kingdom have no right to participate.”
“Loyal and Brave Marquis residence?”
“What?! We don’t know that person! You can’t do this!” The people from the Dasi Kingdom were the first to protest. Jiang Kangchen gestured and armed guards dragged the protesting Dasi Kingdom merchants out. After the venue quieted down, Jiang Kangchen continued, “Secondly, Loyal and Brave Marquis’ legitimate wife was rescued by merchants from the Great Mountain Tribe in his childhood. As that merchant cannot be found, in gratitude towards all the merchants from the Great Mountain Tribe, the first three portions of Dragon Well Green Tea are reserved for bidding only by the merchants from the tribe. This is the sincere gratitude of the Loyal and Brave Marquis towards all the merchants from the Great Mountain Tribe.”
The merchants from the Great Mountain Tribe were ecstatic and although others were not pleased, no one caused any trouble. Leaving aside the lessons learned by the Dasi Kingdom merchants, the tea was provided by the Loyal and Brave Marquis residence, so expressing gratitude to the Great Mountain Tribe merchants was reasonable.
“Thirdly,” Jiang Kangchen revealed a mysterious smile. “All the tea and ingredients for the goat’s milk wine auctioned today come from the essence irrigated in the precious land of the immortal mountains. They have the effects of prolonging life, enhancing beauty, and rejuvenation. The quantity is limited and it’s not to be missed.”
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble—!!! If the relics of the Buddha brought more astonishment due to their novelty, the shock caused by Jiang Kangchen’s words was outright madness. The relics needed someone destined for the Buddha, but this longevity-promoting substance was something everyone needed! Leaving aside how envious and hateful those people were, especially the merchants from the Great Mountain Tribe who could bid first, the competition among them was fierce. The first batch of two kilograms of Dragon Well Green Tea was sold for a high price of thirty-two thousand taels.
Emperor Yongming stood behind the curtain, his heart pounding with the thought of silver, all that money! He could already imagine white silver filling his entire sleeping chamber. Someone with keen insight stood beside him and said, “Your Majesty, after today, tea leaves, and even the tea leaves from the entire Yongxiu County, will become objects eagerly sought after by merchants from various countries. After all, the precious land of the immortal mountains is located in Yongxiu County, in Xiushui Village.”
No one bothered to remind them that Xiushui Village had already been renamed. Emperor Yongming turned and asked, “How much tea is being auctioned this time?” Shao Yunan said, “Not much. After deducting what has been given away, it’s just a few dozen kilograms.”
The Emperor’s expression clearly indicated that he expected Shao Yunan to sell what he had in hand. Suppressing a smile, Shao Yunan said, “Scarcity makes things valuable. Less quantity ensures a high price.” Emperor Yongming nodded in acknowledgment.
Compared to the atmosphere before, the current atmosphere of the entire auction could only be described as ‘blushing and thick-necked.’ The people outside the hall went crazy with bidding and those who had been observing from the second-floor private rooms also joined in. Only the Dai family, Cen family, and Weng family, who had received gifts before, remained silent. Even the Wu family participated in the bidding. The main reason the Dai, Cen, and Weng families stayed silent was that they didn’t have that much money and didn’t need to compete.
With Emperor Yongming and the Empress as endorsements, along with King Luo Rong, Old master Cen, Old master Weng, General Dai, and Murong Yi as living examples, the prices bid for Dragon Well Green Tea and Red Sour fruit Wine made Wang Shijing and Shao Yunan’s hearts race. The two relics of the Buddha were auctioned for a high price of fifty-eight thousand taels, while a jar of Red Sour Fruit Wine was astonishingly auctioned for sixty thousand taels. It was crazy! Because, compared to tea leaves, the quantity of Red Sour Fruit wine was even less.
“There are really many local tyrants.” Shao Yunan covered his chest, breathing rapidly. With so many debts owed, he wasn’t worried anymore!
If one were to ask who the biggest winner of this auction was, it was undoubtedly the Loyal and Brave Marquis residence. Although the major part of the auction proceeds had to be handed over to the Empress, after deducting the debts, Shao Yunan still had nearly a hundred thousand taels in surplus. This was only the first auction of the year, with another auction to come at the end of the year after the red tea was opened. Moreover, red tea would only be available at the auction, making it even more frenzied. The reason the Loyal and Brave Marquis residence was considered the biggest winner was not just because they made money, but also because they gained fame.
To express their apologies, all the guests who attended received a paper-wrapped package of green tea when leaving. Although the amount was not much, each package was worth several hundred taels of silver due to the skyrocketing prices of Dragon Well Green Tea. Merchants were already outside buying these freely obtained green tea. This incident also indirectly demonstrated the Loyal and Brave Marquis’ wealth and generosity.
Emperor Yongming was delighted, almost bursting into laughter. The Empress also wore a joyful expression. If it weren’t for the phrase ‘irrigated with the essence of the precious land of the immortal mountains,’ today’s tea would not have fetched such high prices. Sitting in the carriage returning to the palace, the Empress said, “With today’s experience, this year’s new tea from the Southern Fu will sell for a good amount of silver. The Emperor’s private treasury will be much more enriched.”
Emperor Yongming, with a slightly serious tone said, “At most, give Jiang Kangning another year. The Ministry of Revenue is related to national strength and I must find a reliable person. Now, it seems that there is no better choice.” The Empress asked in a low voice, “Regarding the Loyal and Brave Marquis, what is the Emperor’s plan?”
Emperor Yongming asked in return, “What does Yunan think?” The Empress said somewhat resentfully, “What thoughts can he have? He only thinks about making money. He said that he might not be in the capital for half of the year and Shijing will follow him.” Emperor Yongming pondered for a moment and said, “I would like Wang Shijing to enter the court, but I’m afraid his heart is not here. Let’s see how it goes.”
“That’s what I think too.”
Emperor Yongming picked up the crossbow and a surge of emotions appeared in his eyes—
Edited by: Jaisland
Proofreader:
Support translation:
