Chapter 38: Noble Clan Bidding, Li Yuan

They saw a seven-colored glassware, one zhang long and seven chi high, covered with a red cloth, being carried out by Cheng Chumo and the others.

The moment the red cloth was lifted, the crowd of onlookers was completely dumbfounded...

From its external shape, it combined a lion's head, deer's antlers, tiger's eyes, elk's body, dragon's scales, and an ox's tail; the tail was hair-like, resembling a dragon's tail, and it had one horn with flesh.

It was clearly a Qilin!! And it was a seven-colored Qilin!!

What was a Qilin? That was an auspicious beast. Although it was only a glassware product, everyone wanted to obtain it.

For a time, the East Market was completely boiling. A long time later, someone finally reacted first and immediately told their servant to go back and call for people.

Not long after, the news of Su Liang selling the seven-colored Qilin quickly reached the Imperial City, and soon it was the talk of Changan City.

Seeing this, Su Liang also signaled to Cheng Chumo not to be in a hurry, and to wait until they had gathered enough silver.

A long time later, someone asked Su Liang, "May I ask Young Master Su, what is the price of this seven-colored Qilin?"

This person was Wang Ming, the second son of Wang Xing, the head of the Taiyuan Wang clan.

Seeing this, Cheng Chumo immediately said, "Today's seven-colored Qilin is for public auction; the highest bidder wins!"

As soon as Cheng Chumo's words fell, Su Liang saw that the person asking was Wang Ming, and he couldn't help but have an idea.

Last year, when mining smokeless coal, Su Liang had actually set his sights on the coal mines in Shanxi. There were some shallow coal seams there, and one only needed to dig thirty or fifty meters down to mine them. Unfortunately, the coal mines Su Liang had his eye on were all in the hands of the Taiyuan Wang clan, just not yet mined.

Su Liang then stood up and made a gesture to Cheng Chumo.

Cheng Chumo immediately understood that Su Liang had something to say and left the main seat to Su Liang.

Su Liang smiled slightly, signaled for everyone to be quiet, and then said, "Besides this, today this seven-colored Qilin can also be exchanged for goods; as long as the value is equivalent, it will do."

Everyone couldn't help but feel puzzled. What was Su Liang's idea? Could there be anything in the world more valuable than a seven-colored Qilin?

Wang Ming immediately asked, "I wonder what Young Master Su is referring to?"

Seeing the fish take the bait, Su Liang felt a surge of joy in his heart.

He then said indifferently, "For example, property deeds or land deeds; as long as I think it's appropriate, it will do."

Hearing Su Liang say this, Wang Ming didn't know what to do for a moment. In terms of money, their Wang clan definitely couldn't take down the seven-colored Qilin today. As for property deeds... Su Liang probably wouldn't look down on them; Su Liang's Furong Garden was a full thousand mu.

But in terms of land deeds, he couldn't make the decision alone.

Wang Ming immediately looked at a servant beside him and said, "Go to Pingkang Ward and call my eldest brother Wang Yang over. Also, send someone to ask my father what he thinks."

At this moment, in the Ganlu Hall of the Taiji Palace.

Li Er was discussing matters with several ministers when a eunuch ran in hurriedly.

He reported to Li Er about Su Liang selling the seven-colored Qilin. After hearing this, Li Er just waved his hand simply and said, "No matter, I have already known about this matter. You may go down first."

Before Changle and Su Liang were married, Su Liang had given Li Er a lot of glassware, just warning Li Er not to make it public. Li Er also understood the meaning behind Su Liang's words.

Before Su Liang promised to "destroy the noble clans," Li Er already knew what Su Liang was going to do: plotting money from the Five Surnames and Seven Clans was the most critical priority. Although money wasn't everything, one couldn't do anything without money. A noble clan without money was no longer a noble clan.

At this moment, Li Er looked at Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui and said, "Do the two ministers want to go and take a look together?"

Du Ruhui immediately said, "Your Majesty, let's not go. I imagine the East Market is already packed solid by now."

"Let's just watch the show quietly."

"Sigh... I wonder who this seven-colored glassware will eventually fall to," Fang Xuanling sighed slightly.

"Hehe... the two ministers should guess what price Su Liang will eventually auction this seven-colored Qilin for," Li Er laughed.

At the same time, in the Da'an Palace.

Li Yuan heard that Su Liang was going to sell the seven-colored Qilin and was instantly furious.

The Qilin is a benevolent beast, an auspicious sign of a holy king. Such an auspicious sign, and Su Liang was actually selling it publicly.

Without another word, he headed straight for the East Market.

At this moment, the East Market was already packed solid, and the Five Surnames and Seven Clans were also on their way.

Su Liang wasn't surprised by this at all. What Su Liang didn't expect was that Li Yuan was also rushing over without stopping.

A moment later, Li Yuan's figure quickly appeared in Su Liang's line of sight. Not only Li Yuan, but two people were following behind him. One was Wu Shiyue, and the other was Pei Ji.

Li Yuan walked up to Su Liang and didn't speak, just glared at Su Liang with a fixed gaze.

Su Liang understood at this moment; it seemed Li Er hadn't told Li Yuan about this either.

He was blaming himself... sigh, what a trouble.

Su Liang pondered slightly. Eh... having Li Yuan here might not be a bad thing; he could help him raise the price.

Su Liang didn't have time to deal with Li Yuan at the moment; after all, the Five Surnames and Seven Clans had all arrived.

Su Liang then spoke heartily, restating the rules in detail: "Everyone, today's starting price for the seven-colored Qilin is one wen. Anyone can bid, and the highest bidder will obtain the seven-colored Qilin."

"Besides this, everyone can also exchange goods; as long as I think it's acceptable, it will do."

"Alright, everyone has heard the rules clearly, so please make your bids."

After Su Liang finished speaking, he immediately gave Li Yuan, who was not far away, a "you understand" look.

Hearing what Su Liang said, Li Yuan seemed to understand something. Could it be that Su Liang was trying to fleece the noble clans? It seemed he had to test the waters first to be sure.

He immediately shouted, "One hundred thousand gold!"

As soon as Li Yuan's words fell, the Five Surnames and Seven Clans were bristling. What did Li Yuan mean... using his power to pressure others?

Although the Five Surnames and Seven Clans didn't fear Li Yuan, in this public setting, they had to give Li Yuan some face.

Seeing that no one from the noble clans was bidding, Li Yuan said, "Hehe... buying and selling has been a matter of course since ancient times. Everyone doesn't need to be formal. Young Master Su also said that today the highest bidder wins. Everyone, please feel free to bid."

After Li Yuan finished speaking, he looked meaningfully at Su Liang, only to see Su Liang smile slightly. Li Yuan received Su Liang's response and was completely convinced... this kid Su Liang really didn't have good intentions.

Since that was the case, he had to perform well next!

After all, Su Liang had little dealings with the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, but Li Yuan was different; he knew the Five Surnames and Seven Clans inside and out.

Everyone came back to their senses from Li Yuan's words. Although Li Yuan was the Retired Emperor, he wouldn't go back on his word in public, right?

Wang Yang, who had just rushed over from Pingkang Ward, immediately bid, "My Taiyuan Wang clan bids two hundred thousand gold!"

As Wang Yang's words fell, everyone began to bid one after another...

"Hmph... your Taiyuan Wang clan wants to buy the seven-colored Qilin with a mere two hundred thousand gold? Keep dreaming!"

"You'd better let your father come over. My Longxi Li clan bids three hundred thousand gold!" Li Chong, the head of the Longxi Li clan who had just arrived, said with disdain.

"My Taiyuan Wang clan bids four hundred thousand gold!"

Wang Yang was not to be outdone upon hearing this, directly doubling the price he had previously reported.

Su Liang also looked at Wang Yang with higher regard; he was neither humble nor pushy in front of his elders. He was worthy of being Wang Xing's eldest son! He had his father's boldness.

But what Su Liang didn't know was that this was already the highest price Wang Yang could report within his authority.

"Hehe... Clan Head Li, why bother with a child?" Li Ji of the Zhao Junli clan laughed, then said in a low voice, "My Zhao Junli clan bids five hundred thousand gold!"

The other clans were also not to be outdone...

"My Fan Yanglu clan bids five hundred thousand gold!"

"My Xingyang Zheng clan bids six hundred thousand gold!"

"My Boling Cui clan bids seven hundred thousand gold!"

"My Qinghe Cui clan bids eight hundred thousand gold!"

In an instant, several clan heads were bidding one after another, and the price doubled again in an instant.

Su Liang looked in the direction of the voices to see who was bidding. With a slight sweep of his eyes, he saw Qinghe Cui clan head Cui Li, Boling Cui clan head Cui Yuan, Longxi Li clan head Li Chong, Zhao Junli clan head Li Ji, Fan Yanglu clan head Lu Ming, and Xingyang Zheng clan head Zheng Qian were all here, but Wang Xing of the Taiyuan Wang clan was nowhere to be seen.

Su Liang didn't know why this was; it shouldn't be. By logic, Wang Xing should be here right now.

Just at this moment.

An abrupt voice sounded: "One million gold!!"

Everyone couldn't help but look in the direction of the voice, only to see that the person speaking was none other than the Retired Emperor Li Yuan!!

At this moment, the noble clans couldn't help but feel puzzled. What did Li Yuan mean? Did he have that much money?

For a time, the scene was extremely quiet, and no one spoke.

A moment later, Wang Yang stood out and looked at Li Yuan, saying, "Retired Emperor, if you really want the seven-colored Qilin, just say the word, and I believe our noble clans wouldn't compete with you."

"But you doing this... is really inappropriate!"

"Oh? How is it inappropriate?" Li Yuan became interested immediately.

At this moment, everyone was watching silently, thinking that Wang Yang was truly too bold. This was in public!

Daring to give Li Yuan no face like this, wasn't it clearly saying Li Yuan had no money?

Not to mention whether Li Yuan was the emperor now, even if he were, he couldn't use the national treasury's money; that would inevitably be criticized by people all over the world.

"If the Retired Emperor calls out a price but cannot produce the corresponding money, what then?" Wang Yang said bluntly.

"Haha... you kid, are you looking down on me?" Li Yuan was immediately unhappy. Not to mention that he was just reporting a false price to support Su Liang and had no intention of bidding for the seven-colored Qilin.

Even if he did, so what?

Don't forget that Wu Shiyue was still beside him.

That was the person who had funded Li Yuan's uprising back then. Since the founding of the Great Tang, Li Yuan hadn't treated Wu Shiyue poorly; on the contrary, he had strongly supported him.

If the Five Surnames and Seven Clans were top-tier wealthy families, then Wu Shiyue could also be considered a first-tier wealthy family at this moment. In these days, following Su Liang's business, he had made a fortune.

Wu Shiyue also saw Li Yuan's predicament at this moment and immediately stepped forward.

Everyone finally saw clearly that the person beside Li Yuan was Wu Shiyue. It was just that they were so excited for a moment that they hadn't noticed.

But Wang Yang was different; he was still young and hadn't seen Wu Shiyue, so of course he didn't know that the person standing beside Li Yuan was Wu Shiyue.

If he had known, he wouldn't have said such things...

He immediately closed his mouth and didn't speak. At this moment, there was really nothing for him to do; the four hundred thousand gold he had reported was already the limit of his ability, and he just hoped his father would come over sooner.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Li Yuan became spirited: "What, no one is speaking?"

"I still say the same thing: today's seven-colored Qilin, the highest bidder wins."

"Everyone, hurry up and bid."

"Otherwise, this seven-colored Qilin will be won by me today, hahaha..."

Seeing that Li Yuan didn't seem to be joking, everyone continued to bid...

"My Fan Yanglu clan bids one million one hundred thousand gold!"

"My Xingyang Zheng clan bids one million two hundred thousand gold!"

"My Boling Cui clan bids one million three hundred thousand gold!"

"My Qinghe Cui clan bids one million four hundred thousand gold!"

"My Longxi Li clan bids one million five hundred thousand gold!"

"My Zhao Junli clan bids one million six hundred thousand gold!"

"Holy crap! Holy crap!" Su Liang was no longer calm. He hadn't expected the price to be this high; he had still underestimated the Five Surnames and Seven Clans.

As the auction price got higher and higher, Li Yuan spoke again: "I, Li Yuan, bid three million gold!"

"If anyone bids higher than me, then I will withdraw today."

Oh my goodness... good heavens, had Li Yuan gone crazy? This... this had directly doubled the price again...

Su Liang felt his scalp tingle just thinking about it. Wasn't it just a glass craft?

It was just made into a seven-colored Qilin, was it worth being this crazy... In this way, could his plan still proceed smoothly?

The noble clans were extremely depressed in the face of Li Yuan's bid. At this moment, they had all reacted...

This Li Yuan wasn't trying to bid for the seven-colored Qilin at all; he was clearly driving up the price!!

However, everyone also acknowledged Li Yuan's bid.

"My Boling Cui clan bids three million one hundred thousand gold!" Boling Cui clan head Cui Yuan shouted loudly.

As Cui Yuan's words fell, no one else bid.

Su Liang had to admire Li Yuan for holding the noble clans' money tightly in his grasp.

Just at this moment.

An abrupt voice came from afar...

"My Taiyuan Wang clan is willing to bid four million gold!"

Everyone couldn't help but look in the direction of the voice, only to see that the person who had come was none other than the head of the Taiyuan Wang clan, Wang Xing!

The reason Wang Xing came so late was that he had gone to raise money; after all, there was only one seven-colored Qilin.

Nowadays, the Taiyuan Wang clan's business was booming. Just the fine salt business alone, except for the Capital Region, the fine salt business across the country was operated by the Wang clan, and the price was only twenty wen, the same as Su Liang's before.

After a few months, the Taiyuan Wang clan's wealth had firmly occupied the top spot among the noble clans.

Su Liang sighed helplessly upon hearing this. The noble clans... the noble clans were truly too rich...

It was just a seven-colored Qilin, and it had actually been bid up to four million gold...

Su Liang couldn't help but laugh or cry. A full four million gold; this Taiyuan Wang clan was going to pay for the road construction.

Su Liang shook his head helplessly at this moment. It was a pity... a pity, in the end, he still hadn't obtained what he wanted. ===== CHAPTER 39 =====