Over the past few days, Chu Xifeng had been investigating all sorts of news and was overjoyed.
Originally, His Highness had wanted to get involved with the crown prince's high-profile wedding, but esteemed wangfei's actions saved him a lot of effort.
"I heard the eunuchs in the palace say that the empress dowager almost got into an argument with the crown prince over the betrothal gifts. Your Highness, esteemed wangfei really is too smart! "
Long Fei Ye leisurely drank his tea before finally saying, "Mm, very smart."
"Isn't that so, Your Highness. Why didn't I realize esteemed wangfei had such skills before?" Chu Xifeng was extremely excited, anticipating the arrival of Grand Concubine Yi's birthday banquet.
Unexpectedly, Long Fei Ye only smiled wordlessly.
Chu Xifeng stared blankly at his master's enchanting smile. All right, even a man like him found his master's smile mesmerizing. Unfortunately, he didn't like to smile.
While the entire city was in an uproar and heated discussion, Grand Concubine Yi's birthday banquet arrived as scheduled.
The Duke of Qin's estate had always rejected crowds and disturbances, so Yunxi chose a side palace on the western outskirts of the capital to hold the banquet.
Grand Concubine Yi and the empress dowager were two different people, but Grand Concubine Yi's birthday banquet didn't lose to the empress dowager's in terms of numbers or scale.
The only difference was that Emperor Tianhui wasn't present. Of course, he was still paying close attention to everything that happened at the banquet.
Grand Concubine Yi had long forgotten about worldly affairs, but she was still shrewd enough to know how to deal with such a situation.
After a simple banquet, Grand Concubine Yi claimed that she had caught a cold and left the auction to His Highness Duke of Qin.
The person in charge of the auction was none other than the familiar Zhao mama.
Han Yunxi sat with Long Fei Ye on the right side of the main stage, while Qinwang Rong sat first on the left, followed by the crown prince. Mu Qingwu sat next to the crown prince, while Mu Liuyue wasn't the crown prince's consort yet, so she sat further back behind Mu Qingwu.
After Zhao mama said a bunch of pompous words, she promised that all proceeds from the bazaar would be made public. His Highness Duke of Qin would personally send people to deliver all the money to the victims as soon as possible.
The righteous people naturally praised him, but there were also many people who were not listening. They were hoping to quickly take out the items for the charity auction.
They had no choice but to spend money. They only hoped that there would be more choices and that it would be worth the money.
Who would have thought that granny Zhao would announce that there would only be three medicinal herbs in this auction!
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place went into an uproar. There were at least a hundred people present, and they were only going to sell three medicinal herbs for charity? What was the Duke of Qin's Manor trying to do?
Long Fei Ye had thought that there would be a lot of things. He asked in a low voice, "Just three?"
"Your Highness, at least half of the people here are here for the sake of reputation. They don't really want to do good deeds. Why should I give them a chance to pretend to do good deeds and win a good reputation?" Han Yunxi asked seriously.
After all, news of who had paid how much and what they had bought at today's bazaar had spread like wildfire.
Everyone was talking about the bazaar, but how many of them had seriously considered the current situation in the disaster areas? Even if they had money, they wouldn't be able to buy any grain! Tianning Country didn't have that much grain right now! Too much money was useless.
Actually, Han Yunxi's main goal in holding this bazaar was to extort Long Tianmo's money!
Long Fei Ye looked at Han Yunxi for a while without saying a word. Instead, he took her hand and intertwined their fingers.
Han Yunxi, who had been in high spirits and confident spirits, immediately lowered her head. Her lips split into a smile as sweet as honey.
Although she had refused to hold hands like this in the Poison Sect's forbidden grounds, she really liked it now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up.
Mu Liuyue's gaze had been fixed on Long Fei Ye the entire time. Even though she was about to be married, she still couldn't forget the man she'd secretly loved since she was a child.
Seeing their fingers intertwined, Mu Liuyue hated Han Yunxi even more. She silently told herself that she had to do everything she could to help the crown prince. She had to make His Highness Duke of Qin see her value!
The crowd began to make all sorts of guesses about the three items up for auction.
How much money could these three medicinal ingredients raise from the bazaar? Could it be … that these three ingredients were all priceless treasures?
Many people thought back to Han Yunxi's family's medicine storehouse. Perhaps they really were top-notch ingredients!
"Zhao mama, let's begin. Take out the items," Han Yunxi said with a smile.
Han Yunxi sat by Long Fei Ye's side, her fingers intertwined with his. Long Fei Ye didn't speak, but she did. She was like Long Fei Ye's spokesperson, acting like the mistress of the house.
"Yes, esteemed wangfei."
Zhao mama beckoned with her finger, and a maidservant presented the first medicinal ingredient. It was placed on a plate covered with a red cloth, so no one could see what it was.
Just as everyone was curious, Granny Zhao lifted the red cloth and saw that what lay on the plate was none other than an extremely ordinary … angelica!
No one thought that this would happen. She actually took out an angelica to auction. How much did she want to sell it for?
Amidst everyone's whispers, Zhao mama loudly said, "This is a three year old angelica. The starting price is five thousand taels!"
Five thousand taels?
Everyone was shocked once again!
Even a ten year old angelica wouldn't be worth five thousand taels! How was this a bazaar? This was simply extortion!
Long Fei Ye didn't know what Han Yunxi had prepared, but judging from the curve of his mouth, he was very satisfied with the angelica.
Although everyone was very dissatisfied, the starting price for the first medicinal ingredient was already five thousand taels. Who knew how high the following prices would be? One had to know that there were only three items for the bazaar. Even if they were late, they wouldn't be able to spend the money.
Today's bazaar was for disaster relief. Since they didn't spend any money, how shameful and shameful would it be if word got out?
Soon, someone made a bid, "Seven thousand taels!"
The one who made the bid was no one else but Mu Liuyue!
She thought that if she could get the first medicinal ingredient, she would definitely become the most popular person. Perhaps this time, she would be able to restore her reputation.
"Eight thousand taels." Someone immediately raised the price.
Mu Liuyue wasn't in a hurry, but who knew that there would be so many people following her. From eight thousand taels all the way to twenty thousand taels.
"Twenty thousand and one thousand taels!" Mu Liuyue raised the price again.
"Twenty-two thousand taels." Someone immediately followed.
"Add another thousand!" Mu Liuyue raised her hand again.
"Add another thousand." That person didn't let go.
"Add another five thousand!" Mu Liuyue threw caution to the wind.
This time, that person wilted. Twenty-five thousand taels wasn't a small amount.
The whole place was silent. Mu Liuyue secretly felt smug. Although twenty-five thousand taels wasn't a small amount, for the sake of her reputation, she was willing to throw caution to the wind. She used up all her private savings and with the dowry given by her father, it should be enough.
"Twenty-five thousand taels, going once! Is there anyone who wants to increase the price? "Zhao mama asked loudly.
Mu Liuyue was feeling smug. She thought that she would definitely win. Who knew that General Baili would actually open his mouth, "One hundred thousand taels!"
"Tsk … …"
What a big deal!
Everyone looked at each other in dismay. They couldn't imagine it. Mu Liuyue was immediately dumbfounded. She realized that she was nothing in front of the other party.
"Old Man is willing to contribute to the disaster victims. One hundred thousand taels."
General Baili's words were very pleasant to hear. The bazaar was just a formality. The key was to pay. This wasn't paying to buy the angelica, but to donate!
"General Baili's generosity is the fortune of the disaster victims!" Zhao mama sighed with emotion.
Qinwang Rong and Long Tianmo finally couldn't sit still.
Long Tianmo couldn't help but open his mouth, "Two hundred thousand!"
This … …
How could they play together like this?
Just a moment ago, the price was increasing by one or two thousand taels. Now, it was increasing by one hundred thousand taels?
When the price was announced, everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. The Crown Prince was indeed the Crown Prince. With the Imperial Uncle's support, he was rich and overbearing!
This time, General Baili didn't bid. Of course, no one else bid either. Long Tianmo bought the angelica from the Duke of Qin's estate for two hundred thousand taels.
Mu Liuyue didn't have any love for her future husband, but she had placed a lot of hope in him. Seeing this, she couldn't help but sigh with emotion. The Crown Prince and his financial resources far exceeded her imagination.
She thought that the Crown Prince would be tight on money after spending so much money. She didn't think that he would still be so generous. Who knew how deep his foundation was?
Just like that, the first medicinal ingredient was happily won.
A servant girl brought over the second ingredient. Zhao mama made a big move again. Everyone hoped that the second ingredient would be better.
But reality proved that Han Yunxi was definitely the most stingy Princess in the world.
The second ingredient was actually cassia seed. Moreover, there was only one seed.
But for this lousy item, everyone had to fight to be the first to bid. Even if they didn't win in the end, they had at least participated in the bidding. This way, they wouldn't become a laughingstock.
Just like the first ingredient, the starting price was five thousand taels.
This time, Mu Liuyue continued to increase the price. Whenever someone made a bid, she would immediately raise the price. She practically stole everyone's limelight.
Unfortunately, neither Long Fei Ye nor the Crown Prince looked at her. Instead, it was Han Yunxi who stared at her with great interest.
Han Yunxi was puzzled. Didn't this girl know that the Crown Prince had used the betrothal money to bid? Why was she so excited?
Of course, even though Mu Liuyue kept increasing the price, she still didn't win in the end.
That was because the second ingredient was still bought by the Crown Prince. The starting price was still two hundred thousand taels.
When the bidding for the third ingredient started, Qinwang Rong pressed down on the Crown Prince's hand. "Your Highness, it's too much."
It was over budget. Four hundred thousand taels was far beyond their budget. If they continued to bid, there really wouldn't be a need to hold the wedding.
The Crown Prince didn't say anything, but who knew that he would raise his hand again when Qinwang Rong wasn't paying attention. "One hundred and fifty thousand taels!"
Qinwang Rong almost spat out blood. The bidding required cash, so where would they go to get that much cash? Could it be that they would have to ask the Imperial Uncle's estate?
A trace of coldness flashed through Mu Qingwu's eyes, but he didn't say anything. Behind him, Mu Liuyue's admiration for her future husband surged like a tidal wave!
She couldn't help but think, how could she not like this man who had wealth, power, courage, and a bright future ahead of him?
"One hundred and fifty thousand taels! Is there anyone else who wants to bid? "Zhao mama shouted excitedly.
Would there be anyone else?
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