Chapter 355: The Duke of Qin is the worst (1) (1/2)

Chapter 355: The Duke of Qin is the worst (1)

Nobody cared about what was for sale anymore. Though the third item was rather rare, it was only a daylily stem. They were more interested in the auction price.

“150,000 taels, any other takers?” Zhao mama shouted once more. The entire room was silent. It seemed like no one else would offer another price. The crown prince had spent 200,000 taels each on the previous two items, before spending 150,000 additional taels on the final medicinal ingredient. His perfectly self-possessed face as he sat there respectfully made everyone sigh with emotion. They never expected the crown prince and imperial uncle’s estate to be so wealthy. After all, auctions like this demanded payment in cash.

What did that mean? Solid pieces of silver. They might be silver drafts that could be instantly changed into taels at private banks, or gold cards that could be used at once. There were two types of rich people in the world. One was the man without ready cash on hand, but plenty of wealth in properties, land, industries and private collections. He would need some time to convert all his holdings into money. The other was someone who could spend money like water and show off gold and silver as he pleases. The latter was the standout of the lot.

If the crown prince could get the third item as well, then he would have spent a total of 550,000 taels of silver! That wasn’t a small number at all. Zhao mama had already called out twice. When everyone was convinced that the auction was over, General Baili opened his mouth again.

“400,000 taels!”

His declaration created a sensation! It was unclear whether Zhao mama was truly shocked, or simply pretending. “General Baili, what did you say?”

“400,000 taels. This old man’s willing to pay 400,000 taels!” General Baili even stood up.

Zhao mama repeatedly nodded her head. To tell the truth, she’d was completely flummoxed. Wasn’t General Baili’s money her own master’s money? Maintaining an army cost substantial sums, especially when they were naval forces. Her master attached great importance to General Baili’s navy, and secretly supported him with silver each year in addition to the annual pay from the imperial court! Had General Baili gone mad? Bidding 400,000 taels in one breath was paying more than twice the amount of Long Tianmo’s offer!

Even Han Yunxi was shaken. His Highness Duke of Qin might be right, but this auction was set for the crown prince and imperial uncle’s estate to spend their money, not themselves! Han Yunxi turned towards Long Feiye, who was still calm and unruffled. She couldn’t help but wonder whether General Baili’s 400,000 taels was more than just a ‘coincidence.’ Long Feiye was probably the only calm person in the entire room. Long Tianmo’s eyebrows had long creased into folds above his forehead.

He was extremely sensitive to these 400,000 taels, because General Baili’s bid matched the total of his two previous bids exactly! He was probably trying to pull even with him! Before Long Tianmo came to this auction, he’d already told his imperial father than the Duke of Qin’s estate had taken the first step to win people’s hearts with the charity auction. This time, he had to attend the auction and draw public opinion back to their side, thus suppressing the Duke of Qin’s influence. He had much respect for His Highness Duke of Qin, but at the end of the day, they were still on opposing sides. His Highness Duke of Qin was not only his rival to contend for the throne, but to ‘inherit’ the throne, as well!

Under these circumstances, he had to stand on his father’s side. Even if he couldn’t beat his father, he could still wait until the older man expired. As long as he didn’t have any major problems, his turn on the throne would come eventually. But His Highness Duke of Qin was a different matter. Long Feiye was much too young, only two or three years older than himself.

He didn’t want to lose to the Duke of Qin’s estate this time!

Moreover, he had his personal motivations as well. He was overdrawing the imperial uncle’s funds on purpose to relieve the disaster victims. His imperial father had precautions against the imperial uncle’s estate, just like him. There were countless accounts in history of how an emperor’s relatives on his mother’s side meddled in state affairs. There were also similar accounts of court eunuchs monopolizing power all to themselves. So what if the imperial clan was the ultimate nobility, respected and revered? Too many cases existed where someone else controlled the emperor and ordered nobles about in his name. He didn’t want to ascend the throne and be stuck listening to his imperial uncle’s orders instead.

Right now, the only thing he could do was advance gradually and dig in at every step. Everything else, he had to endure patiently within his own heart. He hadn’t told anyone else about his thoughts, even Qinwang Rong.

Amidst all the commentary, Zhao mama even forgot to ask for additional bidders. Unexpectedly, Long Tianmo suddenly rose to his feet despite Qinwang Rong’s best efforts to stop him.

“500,000 taels!” he cried.

Instead of a commotion, there was now absolute silence.

500,000 taels?

This wasn’t an auction, but a full out competition! Still, General Baili wasn’t about to back down.

“1,000,000 taels!”

This…

Long Tianmo’s momentum was momentarily driven back! Everyone turned towards General Baili, either with gasps or looks of shock. After the empress dowager’s birthday banquet, everyone knew that General Baili was backed by His Highness Duke of Qin. General Baili bidding was equal to His Highness Duke of Qin bidding himself. In other words, the Duke of Qin’s didn’t simply host a charity auction, but was willing to pay such a large price themselves. This style of playing attracted praise and commendation from all parties. The crown suddenly realized that His Highness Duke of Qin was far richer than they thought!

Long Tianmo looked stunned at General Baili, his breathing unsteady. 1,000,000 taels…made him momentarily hesitate to add onto the sum. If he kept bidding, the total would surpass 1,400,000 taels. He would have to seriously consider whether the imperial uncle’s estate could afford such a price tag. After all, rules of the auction stated that the winning bid had to set down half of the price to start. The rest would need to be paid within 10 days’ time. If they couldn’t come up with the money by then, they’d stand to lose tons of face!

But he wanted to keep bidding!