With three strikes of the hammer, the third ingredient went to the Imperial Uncle's Third Young Master, Li Leyuan, for a sky-high price of 2,000,000 taels of silver.
Now that all three ingredients had been sold, the auction should be over. No one expected it to end so quickly. It hadn't even been an hour yet!
Li Leyuan swaggered back to his seat, still clueless as to what a stupid thing he'd just done.
But there were plenty of smart people present, so most of them had already realized what had happened. General Baili hadn't really wanted to bid, but had raised the price on purpose.
Without General Baili's meddling, the third ingredient would've gone to the crown prince for 150,000 taels. But General Baili's bid and Li Leyuan's idiocy meant that the Imperial Uncle's estate had to fork out an extra 1,850,000 taels.
1,800,000 taels of silver was no small sum. Would the Imperial Uncle die of anger if he heard the news? In any case, there were those who rejoiced, while others were worried!
Li Leyuan didn't think much of it. He knew his father was rich, but he wasn't sure how much. He should be able to afford it.
Long Tianmo and Qinwang Rong's faces had both turned white. Mu Qingwu wanted to laugh, but he forced himself not to. Behind him, Mu Liuyue had long been stupefied by the sight. She couldn't help but wonder if the Imperial Uncle's estate was really that rich?
Many people stole glances at His Highness Duke of Qin, who was leisurely sipping his tea, and couldn't help but shiver. General Baili's actions were all incited by this cold-faced duke.
The calmest man present was the scariest of all.
"Your Highness is brilliant." Han Yunxi murmured. She only wanted to swindle the Imperial Uncle's estate for a few hundred thousand taels, but Long Fei Ye had doubled the price for her.
Long Fei Ye leisurely poured her a cup of tea without a word.
Zhao mama was already grinning from ear to ear. She was about to announce the end of the auction when a loud voice came from outside the courtyard. "Esteemed Empress Dowager has arrived!"
That's right, Empress Dowager Li had arrived.
Aside from the previous emperor and the current one, she'd never deigned to attend anyone's birthday banquets. She'd never do that to an arch-enemy like Grand Concubine Yi.
However, the birthday banquet this time was different. The situation was also different. She had no choice but to come.
Of course, she had to put on airs. She was late.
Although she was late, she had calculated the time. After the vegetarian banquet was the auction for charity. She wanted to bid for at least ten medicinal herbs in the auction.
She came at this time, neither too early nor too late. She could bid for something and express her feelings to the people in the disaster area. Then, she could return to the palace after drinking a few cups of tea.
Everyone looked at the gate of the courtyard and saw the Empress Dowager dressed casually with only two or three palace maids.
"Long live the Empress Dowager!" Everyone stood up and bowed.
Empress Dowager Li had her usual benevolent smile. "You may dispense with the formalities, everyone dispense with the formalities."
Everyone stood up. They were all very puzzled. The news couldn't have spread so quickly. The Empress Dowager definitely didn't come because Li Leyuan had offered such a high price. However, the auction was already over. What was she doing here?
The Empress Dowager gracefully sat down at the head seat next to Qinwang Rong. She glanced at Zhao mama on the auction stage. "Continue."
As she spoke, she turned to Qinwang Rong and whispered, "Did you bid?"
Unexpectedly, Li Leyuan smiled and said, "Great aunt, the auction ended long ago!"
The Empress Dowager was immediately embarrassed.
It ended? How was that possible?
The quiet atmosphere made the Empress Dowager even more embarrassed. She coughed a few times and asked Qinwang Rong in a low voice, "What happened?"
Qinwang Rong didn't know what to say. In the end, he concisely told the Empress Dowager everything that had happened in less than an hour.
Instantly, the Empress Dowager couldn't care less about embarrassment. Her first reaction was to glare angrily at Li Leyuan! If it weren't for the fact that everyone was watching, she would definitely beat this bastard to death with her own hands!
The Imperial Uncle's estate couldn't immediately take out two million in cash!
"How could it be like this? Why are there only three items?" the Empress Dowager asked in a low voice, anxious.
What could Qinwang Rong say? He could only ask Han Yunxi this question.
"Imperial Grandmother, what do we do now? We have to pay at least one million and two hundred thousand in cash first. " Long Tianmo couldn't help but speak up. He was here to steal the limelight as a representative of the royalist faction. He couldn't come here to embarrass himself!
The Empress Dowager was so angry that she felt unwell. Her face paled considerably, but she pretended to be calm and smiled. "It seems that aijia has arrived late?"
As she dealt with the situation, she quietly ordered, "Hurry and send someone to the Imperial Uncle's estate. Have him think of a solution."
She really couldn't think of a solution. Even if she deducted all of the harem's allowance for this month's expenses and cosmetics, she still couldn't afford to withhold such a large sum.
The national treasury had been tight for several years now, and the harem's welfare had long since declined. In order to keep up appearances, she had to fork out quite a bit of her own private savings for the birthday banquet.
Based on her understanding of the Imperial Uncle's estate, even if the estate didn't have enough cash, the Imperial Uncle would still be able to think of a solution.
"I sent someone over a long time ago. They probably haven't arrived yet," Qinwang Rong replied in a low voice. The side palace in the suburbs was still a bit far from the center of the imperial capital. Otherwise, the Empress Dowager would've received the news long ago and wouldn't have embarrassed herself like this.
"It's good that they've gone. Don't worry, the Imperial Uncle will definitely scrape together the silver."
So speaking, she leisurely picked up a cup of tea and asked, "Duke of Qin, where's your mufei? Why isn't the birthday star anywhere?"
Although she was getting on in years and often muddle-headed from lack of sleep, she had experienced her fair share of trials and tribulations. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the Empress Dowager could still hold her ground.
In public, she couldn't afford to lose the support of the imperial faction.
In private, she'd suffered a severe setback at Han Yunxi's hands not too long ago. Even if she had to pay over 2 million taels for this charity auction, she had to fight for her dignity and prevent the Duke of Qin's estate from getting their way.
"Mufei caught a cold and has already returned to the estate. If esteemed empress dowager misses her, you can come to the estate, "Long Fei Ye was never polite with his words.
How could the empress dowager really go to the Duke of Qin's estate to visit Grand Concubine Yi?
Still, her face was full of concern. "How could you be so careless? Have you called for an imperial physician?"
Wasn't that obvious? If she was sick, she'd naturally call for an imperial physician.
The Empress Dowager was clearly stalling for time, but Han Yunxi wasn't that patient. She was anxious to force the Empress Dowager and Li Leyuan to hand over the silver.
However, just as she was about to urge Zhao mama to end the auction, Long Fei Ye stopped her. "There's no rush."
No rush?
What else does this guy want? Is there anything else he can do?
The auction was a complete success. It couldn't have been worse!
Han Yunxi couldn't think of anything else Long Fei Ye wanted, but she was more than willing to wait patiently.
Long Fei Ye didn't pay much attention to the Empress Dowager. When the Empress Dowager started chatting with the others, no one dared to be as arrogant as Long Fei Ye. Everyone responded respectfully.
Time flew by as they chatted. Before long, the young eunuch who'd been sent to the Imperial Uncle's estate returned.
"Esteemed Empress Dowager, the Imperial Uncle said that he'll be able to raise half of the money by the end of the year. The rest will be raised within ten days." The young eunuch reported truthfully. In truth, he wanted to say that the Imperial Uncle had smashed everything in his study before he gave those words. He'd almost drawn a knife and rushed over to kill a certain someone.
The Empress Dowager, Qinwang Rong, and the Crown Prince all sighed in relief.
"It's good that the problem isn't too big," the Crown Prince said indifferently.
"Although the price was high, at least we managed to steal the limelight. Once news of this spreads, the Duke of Qin's estate's reputation will fall behind the Crown Prince and the Imperial Uncle's estate." Qinwang Rong sighed.
This was their only consolation!
At the very least, they'd achieved their goal in coming here after paying such a high price. The Crown Prince hadn't wasted two bids of two hundred thousand taels.
"That's right, that's right. Crown Prince, send a few people to spread the news. Don't let the money be spent in vain!" the Empress Dowager hurriedly said.
All three of them were delighted that they'd escaped without any mishap.
Since the Imperial Uncle's estate had spoken, the Empress Dowager didn't delay any longer. She smiled and said, "It's getting late. Since His Highness Duke of Qin has nothing else to auction, as I see it, let's disperse here."
Her words were a bit too provocative.
No one dared to speak up, but the Empress Dowager sighed with pride. "The Crown Prince and the Imperial Uncle's estate are concerned about the common people and the disaster victims. It's Tianning's great fortune to be so generous!"
Many of the people present chimed in at her words. Very soon, the mood changed from praises to praises.
It had to be said that Han Yunxi was starting to feel a little unreconciled. Although they'd tricked them, she still felt that it wasn't enough!
She looked back at Long Fei Ye and saw that he didn't seem to mind the atmosphere at all. His head was bowed as he spoke to Chu Xifeng, as if explaining something.
Han Yunxi couldn't help but wonder if she'd guessed wrongly when he'd said 'no rush.'
Zhao mama, who'd been in a good mood this whole time, was now unhappy. She couldn't be bothered to listen to such hypocritical praises anymore, so she took advantage of the break in conversation to announce, "Ladies and gentlemen, the charity auction is over. The funds raised totaled 2.4 million taels of silver, all of which will be given to the Ministry of Revenue to donate to the disaster areas and sell grain for relief! I ask that Your Highness Crown Prince and Third Young Master give half of the money to the Ministry of Revenue today and the rest within 10 days. "
The Crown Prince immediately rose to his feet. "Definitely!"
Li Leyuan rose to his feet as well, extremely arrogant. "We can pay it all today. What need is there for 10 days? It's just a small token of appreciation for the disaster victims."
Although the Empress Dowager dearly wanted to give the brat a beating, she was more than happy to let him be so arrogant. They'd already spent the money, so it was only natural for them to flaunt their wealth and disgust the Duke of Qin and the rest.
Many people echoed Li Leyuan's sentiments. Zhao mama had said the auction was over, but she still couldn't control the situation. But it was at this moment that Long Fei Ye slowly rose to his feet.
He'd answered the Empress Dowager's question without saying a word.
At this moment, he'd silently stood up, but no one could ignore him.
For a moment, the entire place was silent. Even the Empress Dowager had shut her mouth!
Long Fei Ye allowed the surroundings to fall silent because of him. Holding Han Yunxi's hand, he lightly said, "Zhao mama, this prince will donate 5 million taels. Later, let the Ministry of Revenue know that the money will arrive shortly."
As soon as his voice fell, the entire audience was dumbfounded!
Direct donation?
That's right. Even if they didn't participate in the auction, they could still donate directly. No one said that they had to donate through the auction!
5 million taels!
In an instant, the Crown Prince's 400,000 taels and Li Leyuan's 2 million taels were no longer the same thing! They were simply too weak! What was the point of competing with others for the limelight and the hearts of the people?
5 million taels was more than double what they had added together!
Moreover, they hadn't been forced to bid again and again. They'd generously donated it!
What was domineering? What was generosity? What was wealth? What was affection for the people? What was benefit for the people? What was this?!
The Imperial Uncle's estate had spent such a large sum of money, but in the end, they still didn't manage to steal the limelight from the disaster relief. This was truly a scam to the end!
Han Yunxi only recovered after a long while. She couldn't help but snicker, "Your Highness, you're so evil!"
Long Fei Ye's lips curved into a faint smile. Holding her hand, he turned around and left, leaving behind a legendary back view.
The auction for the charity auction had finally come to an end. The Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince's expressions …
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