Chapter 194

The audience's applause enthusiasm was not high; after a perfunctory round, only a few shop assistants were left to keep up appearances. To say that Shopkeeper Song's popularity and charm were inferior to Hu Xiaotian's, the warmth of the applause naturally diminished further.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Tonight's banquet is in the name of charity; everyone being able to gather together is not for my Hu Xiaotian's face, but for the two words 'charity', for the benevolent and kind heart in each of our chests. A month ago, Qingyun Bridge was washed away by flood; it is the vital throat connecting Qingyun to the interior of Xichuan. After the bridge's damage, it has caused great inconvenience to the lives of Qingyun's people. As the magistrate of Qingyun County, I see it in my eyes and feel it in my heart. I dare not say that serving one term as an official can benefit a region, but I will exert all my strength to do so, to relieve the people's urgencies and share their sufferings. I will list the repair of Qingyun Bridge as the primary issue to be resolved during my term."

Xu Qinglian and Liu Bajiu remained kneeling beside the prince, their knees numb from kneeling. Upon hearing this, both silently cursed, "Flattery and smooth talk—you've taken all the credit. The plan to repair Qingyun Bridge was clearly ours to decide, wasn't it?" Now they suddenly felt that, after previously scheming against him, they had seemingly handed him a huge windfall for free.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Saying it's easy to repair the bridge, but actually implementing it is not that simple. Qingyun County has suffered continuous natural disasters and poor harvests these years; no household has any surplus grain!" He paused deliberately, fixing his gaze on Xu Qinglian, still kneeling on the ground: "Sir Xu once suggested collecting five taels of silver from each household. After thinking it over, I find this inappropriate. Although repairing the bridge benefits the people, levying such a flat fee opens the door to extortion. Most of Qingyun's populace cannot afford five taels of silver; if we really went ahead with it, we don't know how many families would be torn apart, wives separated from children, homes destroyed." He thus thoroughly clarified the matter: the so-called door-to-door levy of five taels of silver was originally proposed by Xu Qinglian, and has nothing to do with me.

Xu Qinglian's face was blotched blue and purple; she wanted to stand up and argue with Hu Xiaotian, but facing the prince, she dared not, so she could only droop her head and remain kneeling there honestly, allowing Hu Xiaotian to pile the chamber pot on her head.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Tonight's charity auction, inviting everyone here, is meant to have those with strength contribute strength and those with money contribute money, so everyone can do their part for Qingyun's populace; charity knows no order, love knows no size—if everyone offers a bit of goodwill, that's enough. The first auction item is the blue-and-white porcelain vase donated by the Wild Goose Pavilion's shopkeeper." Song Shaofu personally carried the vase he donated onto the stage, following Hu Xiaotian's directions, circling the stage once to display it for all to see. Although this blue-and-white porcelain vase is a product of a folk kiln, it also has over a hundred years of history, making it a fine piece among folk kiln wares.

Hu Xiaotian said: "The blue-and-white porcelain vase has a starting bid of ten taels of silver, with each bid raising at least five taels. By the way, all silver raised tonight will go toward repairing Qingyun Bridge; the vase will go to the winning bidder."

After the rules were understood, they again had Shopkeeper Song take the porcelain to the venue for display, allowing interested parties to examine it up close; only then did the auction officially begin, and immediately a merchant called out fifteen taels.

Zhang Ziqian, the Chief Secretary of Xiezhou, who has always loved collecting, took a liking to the vase upon seeing it; hearing someone bid, he also called out twenty taels. His bid immediately silenced the hall, for besides the prince, he held the highest rank among those present, and no other official or merchant would dare to compete with him. As the saying goes, civilians do not contend with officials; who would have a good ending by grabbing from an official?

Upon hearing Zhang Ziqian's bid, Hu Xiaotian secretly resented this old meddler; he had asked Shopkeeper Song, and the market price for the blue-and-white porcelain vase was around fifty taels. Zhang the old man was merely here to pick up a bargain—once he called out a price, who would dare to oppose him? Hu Xiaotian gazed expectantly at Prince Long Yefang, only to see the prince's attention drift away, his eyes fixed on the southeast corner, where the red‑clad maiden Xi Yan stood. It was obvious he had been bewitched by her beauty; his focus was nowhere near the auction.

... Hu Xiaotian could only call out: "Twenty taels once, twenty taels twice…" Looking at Zhang Ziqian's smiling brows, Hu Xiaotian thought, "This old miser, picking up a free bargain for nothing—are you here to cheer or to sabotage?"

Zhang Ziqian, how could he not know Hu Xiaotian's intention in the auction? But everyone has flaws, he is no exception; seeing a piece of porcelain he likes, he cannot restrain himself from wanting to pocket it quickly, so he hastily called out a bid—not out of spite toward Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian reluctantly raised the auction hammer, which was actually the mallet used to strike the gong; having neglected to have a proper auction hammer made, he temporarily substituted an iron hammer, laying the gong face flat on the table—striking it counted as settling the matter with a single blow.

At that moment, Xiang Qin's loud voice rang out: "My lady bids fifty taels!"

Hu Xiaotian, seeing he was about to strike the gong face, hastily pulled the mallet back, hehe, old miser, trying to snag a bargain isn't that easy.

Hearing someone bid fifty taels, Zhang Ziqian naturally felt a bit disappointed; he is quite knowledgeable in porcelain appraisal, and had just seen that the vase's value was at most fifty taels—bidding higher would not be worth it. Moreover, as a respected figure in Xichuan, he would not stoop to squabble with a few young ladies over trinkets.

Seeing no further bids, Hu Xiaotian immediately said: "Let me add, the charity auction is unrelated to the item's value; it's about the goodwill. I hope everyone bids enthusiastically to contribute more for Qingyun's populace—fifty taels once… twice… thrice…" This time no one called out a bid, after all, nobody is a fool, and no one wants to spend a lot of money to take home such a vase.

The first lot was successfully concluded; Xiang Qin cheerfully presented fifty taels of silver, which was directly entered into the account of Hongyan Lou's office. Hu Xiaotian then produced the second auction item: a landscape painting donated by Xiao Tianmu, master of Red Willow Manor, personally painted by the renowned artist Yan Murong. Upon its unveiling, the room gasped—Yan Murong had once served as a court painter in Dakang, excelling in depictions of beauties, and his landscape paintings are exceedingly rare; moreover, he died of illness half a year ago, so the price of his works has been steadily rising.

Speaking of appraising calligraphy and painting, Zhang Ziqian is indeed a master; he went up and examined the painting several times, confirming it was truly a genuine work by Yan Murong, and even he could not help feeling somewhat moved. Yan Murong's talent for painting beauties is known worldwide, yet his skill in landscape painting is in no way inferior to his beauty paintings. Seeing this "Sunrise over Mountains and Seas" painting, his brushwork is wild and unconstrained, his ink flows freely, the momentum is vast and the scene myriad. Zhang Ziqian immediately recognized it as a treasure among treasures, and couldn't help glancing again at Xiao Tianmu, unaware how this blind scholar came by such a landscape painting, let alone that he would be willing to part with such a precious piece.

The prince also approached at this time; upon rising, he noticed Xu Qinglian and Liu Bajiu still kneeling before him, furrowed his brow in annoyance, waved his hand and said, "Please rise." Upon hearing that, the two finally rose as if relieved of a heavy burden, yet even standing, they dared not sit down.

Prince Long Yefang is not keen on power struggles and profit; he usually immerses himself in mountains and waters, and has always been deeply fond of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; moreover, he writes a fine hand and paints well. This painting's ability to draw him forward has another important reason: when Yan Murong served as a court painter, he once gave him pointers on painting; Prince Long Yefang's depictions of beauties are also quite good, capturing much of Yan Murong's spirit, so in this regard Yan Murong can be considered his teacher; he is extremely familiar with Yan Murong's brushwork, and at a glance he determined this painting is undoubtedly genuine. Even within the Dakang imperial palace, collections of Yan Murong's landscape paintings are scarce, making this piece truly a rare treasure.

Among the arriving guests, some understood painting, some did not; yet even those who lacked knowledge could read expressions and tone. Seeing Prince Long Yefang move toward it, they already realized the prince had taken a liking to it—in other words, as long as the prince wanted it, no one could contend.

... Hu Xiaotian saw Zhang Ziqian and Prince Long Yefang both come forward to examine the painting personally, and thought, "This is going badly; if the prince calls out a bid, surely no one will dare to match it. My original hope to make a killing off this painting is likely to be dashed, but Hu Xiaotian couldn't say much, waiting for the guests who had examined it up close to return to their seats.

Hu Xiaotian cleared his throat and said: "The starting bid for this Sunrise over Mountains and Seas painting is five hundred taels of silver." In fact, he had previously discussed with Xiao Tianmu in private, setting the starting bid at one hundred taels; seeing the prince show strong interest, Hu Xiaotian guessed the price would not reach that, so he gritted his teeth and asked for a high price.

The venue immediately erupted in exclamations, accompanied by murmurs; even Yan Murong's beauty paintings now fetch only around three hundred taels, yet Hu Xiaotian truly opened his mouth wide like a lion.

Although Xiao Tianmu could not see the scene, he could hear the proceedings clearly; upon hearing Hu Xiaotian call out the high bid of five hundred taels, the corner of his mouth also involuntarily curled into a faint smile. He certainly understood Hu Xiaotian's intention, but did not know whether the prince was willing to part with that money.

Prince Long Yefang did not rush to speak; instead, he lifted his Chazan, smiled slightly, and took a sip of tea.

"I bid five hundred taels!" The speaker was Wan Boping; as the richest man of Qingyun, he indeed had the air of a local tyrant.

Hu Xiaotian pointed at Wan Boping and said: "Wan Yuanwai bids five hundred taels!" Wan Boping's utterance was likely meant to cheer himself on; estimating that once the prince made a bid, this fellow would not dare to speak.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Is there any higher bid?"

"I bid five hundred fifty taels!" All eyes turned as one to the speaker, and the bidder turned out to be Qingyun County Magistrate Xu Qinglian. RS