Chapter 605

Bai Li Yan spent thirteen thousand taels to acquire this sword; Da Wang was quite willing—after all, whose silver isn't spent? He could resell it and exchange it for a good blade fit for the Imperial Guards.

The other party's intention to provoke Da Wang was genuine; later, when other rare items were offered, the Di-character Number One received no further response.

The miscellaneous junk Da Wang collected at the Feng Huang Ji estate is rare in the Jin Dynasty—people haven't even seen it, let alone heard of it. For example, the mutated Qing Tian trees, which can grow at least 150 meters tall; Zhu Ti said that once grown large, they could be used to build towers, like the Taotie pouches of Beijiang.

Normally, such things wouldn't interest the powerful, but lately, hasn't Chang'an been caught up in a tree-planting craze? Hearing of this height, they suddenly became curious and wanted to try—after all, they never lack manor houses and servants.

When the stablehand led in the silver-coated wild horse, another small climax arrived; many eyes lit up, for noble clans treasure such steeds.

This horse's appearance is something common folk rarely see; even wealthy noble clans struggle to obtain these top-tier steeds from the desert's end. After turning a few circles so everyone could inspect its condition, Zhu Ti began the introduction.

"Next item: a heavenly steed from overseas, of the same breed as one of Your Majesty's beloved horses— the Silver-Coated Wild Horse. Wild and untamed, yet possessing extraordinary ability, this horse is exceptionally precious. Among the high-ranking cavalry of Beijiang, some ride such white steeds—speed, endurance, and strength are all formidable, making it fit for war. Though divine steeds have always been hard to tame since ancient times, we at the Floating Pagoda Tower have devised a method for our honored guests: whoever wins this horse receives three free Beast-Nourishing Spirit Pills. When the horse eats them, its intelligence increases, and its bond with its owner deepens."

Da Wang's brainless fans listened, heads full of question marks: "Tang brother, did you understand? What is 'intelligence,' and what is 'affinity'?" Really, it's just because he didn't study seriously?

Tang Ming: "…Sounds like a pill to make the horse smarter?"

Zhao Sui's worldview collapsed into ruins: "Do such things exist out there now?" It seems Cangzhou is indeed somewhat backward.

Only hearing the beautiful lady smile sweetly as she announced: "The Jin Dynasty currently has only this one ownerless steed—waiting for a capable master to take it home. To speak frankly, its running speed, as long as you don't race it against Your Majesty's White Dragon, makes it unbeatable in the common folk's eyes. Miss this chance, and who knows when the next will come? Alright, those who recognize value will naturally understand. Opening bid for the Silver-Coated Wild Horse: twenty thousand taels of silver, one thousand dan of grain." She made it clear: in this age, if you ride it to flee, no one can catch up.

"Oh my, impressive~ Still need grain too?!"

"Can it really be like this? One can tell Youzhou is short on grain."

"After winning the bid and paying the silver, the order takes effect—grain delivered within ten days suffices. The Floating Pagoda Tower operates in good faith; its backer is Wanxiang City in Youzhou. Rest assured, everyone."

From then on, the more sought-after items added grain clauses. The head steward subtly kept the bidding within a range everyone could accept—several hundred to a thousand dan—people could scrape it together bit by bit, small amounts accumulating.

The auction burned hot and fierce; Da Wang grinned throughout, having completely abandoned expression management, silently tallying tonight's sales in his heart. He wanted to hoard grain, hoard grain, hoard grain—then in spring, march southward to attack Bai Li Qi!

Da Wang hoped the auction would never end, best if it went on forever—this would earn more than opening countless shops in Youzhou. Alas, people remain conservative; useless entertainment lots fetch no price and fade quickly, soon leading to the climax: the Returning Spring Pill and the Ever-Youthful Elixir.

"Returning Spring Pill— as the name suggests, a precious pill that consolidates the foundation and nurtures the origin. It can make your body younger by five years starting from age fifty; recommended for those over fifty. Three pills total; bidding begins now for the first, opening bid: fifty thousand taels of silver, two thousand dan of grain. Each bid increase must be no less than five thousand taels—begin~"

Some don't recognize value; others have heard of it before.

Both previous Youzhou auctions fetched high prices; the top aristocratic circle of the Jin Dynasty is that small—starting from the first bid, the atmosphere rose steadily. Da Wang soon noticed the entire building had come alive!

"Turns out everyone was waiting for the Returning Spring Pill and the Ever-Youthful Elixir?"

Listening closely, it turned out the whole crowd had joined in—people queued to bid, even shouting bids together in a scramble!

Wei Shen also grew excited, rising to go help raise the bid: "You only have three? Not enough—bring out more!"

Wei Ke pressed him back down: "You don't need to—this is already lively enough."

Prices doubled in the blink of an eye. Da Wang beamed: "Why rush? Once they come begging, even without the auction, we could still sell at high prices."

Wei Shen: "…Or are you just being sly?"

Da Wang: "This is for the benefit of the people!"

Wei Ke: ……

Realizing there were three pills, everyone bid cautiously, and the first sold for 130,000 taels. Da Wang nearly split his lips laughing: "Having silver makes one fear death not at all!" Typical—taking advantage and playing innocent.

All three pills triggered full mobilization; glancing around, every room participated. On the auction slip, the Ever-Youthful Elixir was listed as only one available—too difficult—so the final Returning Spring Pill became especially coveted, selling directly for 266,000 taels.

"Next is the climax treasure of this auction— the Ever-Youthful Elixir. Today, everyone seated here has likely heard its name before. Without false modesty: as long as one hasn't breathed their last, the Ever-Youthful Elixir can drag a person back from the gates of death, granting another five to ten years of life without issue. Such supreme quality means one pill sold is one less—good things spoken of lack proof. Recently, we openly sought in Chang'an a man at death's door; today we test the pill live for all to see. For this, we invited two renowned physicians from Chang'an and two imperial doctors—now let them take the patient's pulse on-site."

Everyone craned their necks; an old man was brought up from the first floor—there weren't four physicians but five. If one moves in Chang'an's official circles, one would recognize the extra as the Ling Ling of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

The test is simple: compare pulse before and after taking the medicine.

First, let everyone take turns feeling the pulse and announcing the condition; after taking the medicine, again take turns feeling the pulse.

Effects take a little time; everyone waited in agony, barely blinking as they awaited results. Half an hour later, Da Wang had finished eating and drinking another round, when the Imperial Medical Bureau Ling finally nodded. One imperial doctor emerged with a dazed, sleepwalking expression, announcing the man was fine— the entire Floating Pagoda Tower erupted in an uproar.

"There were rumors earlier from Jiangnan— turns out it's true!"

"…It's not that I imagined too much— how could such a thing leak out for sale? …You say, doesn't the palace have any ideas?"

"He's still young— accumulating grain and silver to take down the southern rebel king is the proper path."

"I don't think so— surely there's more than just one or two, right?"

"I say Youzhou has already sold this several times…"

Three hundred thousand, five hundred thousand— numbers soared straight to eight hundred thousand. The giant merchants of Zhongzhou all pulled out handkerchiefs to wipe sweat; competitors remained many even now.

He gritted his teeth and kept bidding; when the number reached nine hundred thousand, it slowed. He thought, then shouted all the silver he could move: "One million one hundred thousand taels!"

But this is life-for-life money—the accumulated foundation of a thousand-year-old noble clan isn't comparable to his three generations' wealth. Soon someone added another ten thousand; Ge Yuan's face turned ashen, not seeing the head steward glance in this direction.

Finally, this climax treasure sold for one million two hundred fifty thousand taels. He Guang went out and returned saying it wasn't bought by a capital resident— the buyer was the Chen Wang Heir Apparent.

"Good!" Da Wang clapped loudly; tonight's income he would hoard entirely as grain, spending not a single coin— thanks to the top bidder, Chen Wang Heir Apparent~

After tonight, the Ever-Youthful Elixir made a name in Chang'an; every few days, one could glimpse a pill. This Guy laughed enough, thought a while, then recalled this Chen Wang Heir Apparent seemed familiar— didn't he seem to leap about cheerfully?

Da Wang kindly guessed: "Could it be that Chen Wang is unable?"

His own relative, he still asked Xie Tu: "This Chen Wang— what relation is he to me?"

Xie Tu: "…I, your servant, do not know." This question is a bit beyond the syllabus.

"Then he must be quite distant? Alas, then I can rest easy." Idle leaping— this sickle is what Chen State deserves.

But Xie Tu is reliable after all; he knows his uncle won't come, so after the Floating Pagoda Tower dispersed, he immediately returned to tell Xie Yuan about the matter of the Nan'an King's consort.